Profiles of the Undeveloped Watersheds on Vancouver Island by Keith Moore 1991

COASTAL WATERSHEDS

An Inventory of Watersheds
in the Coastal Temperate Forests
of British Columbia
by Keith Moore

with an essay
THE COASTAL TEMPERATE RAIN FOREST
An Ecosystem Management Perspective
By Spencer B. Beebe & Edward C. Wolf

A BC ENDANGERED SPACES PROJECT WORKING PAPER

Earthlife Canada Foundation & Ecotrust/Conservation International 1991

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: this document is not the original publication file, which was produced with ancient (1991) Aldus Pagemaker v3 software for Macintosh. This file was created by a heroic routine of copy/cut/paste from the Pagemaker file into MS Word, and as such is likely to contain some text omissions. Three figures and two tables are not included. Appendices are available as separate DBF/MS Excel files, but are not include here.

 

 

CONTENTS

Preface 2
Introduction 4
Definitions 5
Methods 6
Caveats 8
Provincial Summary 11
Results by Geographic Region 13
Results by Regional Ecosystem 22
Summary of Protected Primary Watersheds 32
Literature Cited 33

ESSAY
The Coastal Temperate Rain Forest 34
An Ecosystem Management Perspective

Figures
Figure 1 Coastal Western Hemlock and Coastal Douglas-Fir
Biogeoclimatic Zones of BC 9
Figure 2 Undeveloped and Protected Coastal Watersheds 20
Figure 3 Regional Ecosystems of Coastal BC 23

Tables
Table 1 Development Status Summary 11
Table 2 Protected Status Summary 12

Appendices 39
Appendix 1 Annotated Database 41
Appendix 2 Protected Watersheds in BC >5,000 ha 52
Appendix 3 Partially Protected Watersheds in BC >5,000 ha 53
Appendix 4 Protected Watersheds in BC 1,000-5,000 ha 54

 

Page  2 PREFACE

by John Broadhead

 

From windy bay and the Khutzeymateen in the north to Clayoquot Sound and the Carmanah in the south, proposals to preserve entire coastal watersheds have become an important part of the debate over old-growth forests in British Columbia.

The issue of watersheds presents complex economic and eco-logical questions, and sorting out the implications of different land use decisions is an inexact science. We can measure the economic benefits of logging watersheds; and industry advocates usually equate these with the costs of preservation. Yet some significant downstream costs and other values foregone are missing from this equation, externalized by economists, but nonetheless real.

In biological terms, the benefits of preservation and the costs of logging have scarcely been articulated. We know something about the habitat requirements of a few fish and wildlife species of economic importance, but these are a tiny portion of the thousands of kinds of flora and fauna that watersheds contain. From estuary to ridge top, species both transient and resident interact with each other and their physical environment in ways that we have yet to comprehend.

The forest industry commonly treats watersheds as planning and management units, each one posing a distinct set of engineering and environmental problems and solutions. But watersheds have also been proposed as appropriate management units for conservation purposes. The argument has been advanced that setting aside entire, intact watersheds to represent a natural region will capture biological values more effectively–and sustain ecological processes with more assurance than will setting aside pieces of a landscape fragmented by industrial development.

To date, British Columbia has confronted the issue on a piecemeal basis… watershed by watershed… jobs versus the environment and “the last unlogged watershed.” This paper is provided for those who are calling for a different approach–for a comprehensive land use strategy, including a systematic analysis of the full costs and benefits of preserving and logging coastal watersheds.

The paper presents a basic part of the information required for such an undertaking: an inventory of coastal watersheds, describing their development status and degree of protection. Results are reported by geographical region to indicate where both priorities and opportunities for conservation are located. Results are also reported by ecosection, as the basis for a gap analysis of protected area systems on the BC coast.

Appendix 1 contains the project’s full, annotated database of 354 watersheds in the coastal temperate forest of BC that are larger than 5,000 ha, compiled for analysis according to the criteria described in the report. In the appendix the reader will find, for example, that Waump Creek is really stream number 900-9479 in the BC Ministry of Environment’s “Watershed Dictionary.” It’s a 10,812 ha system in the North Pacific Ranges (NPR) Ecosection, located on the South Coast (SC) of mainland BC. The Waump is classified here as a modified watershed, because 216 ha have been logged. None of it is protected.

Perseverence is required in searching the database for a pristine watershed that is fully protected, although the computer can do it in half a second. This is in part because there are actually only four of them protected in parks or ecological reserves, while two are protected in ‘Recreation Areas’ (in which mineral exploration is permitted). There are three protected modified watersheds, all in Recreation Areas.

As for the remainder, 236 of them are already developed, 43 are modified and 64 are pristine. All of them are in a Tree Farm License or a Timber Supply Area, and few will likely remain undeveloped by the year 2000.

Another sort of the database reveals that, of the 16 established ecosystem units on the coast of BC that contain the coastal temperate forest, only two are represented by an intact, pristine watershed in our park and ecological reserve systems; and one by a Recreation Area.

Some of the people of British Columbia think that the needs of their future generations might include a reasonable system of protected areas–wild ecosystems that we haven’t logged, dammed, mined, roaded or settled; big enough to sustain through time the natural legacy that we enjoy today. If intact watersheds are the best way to do this, then we had better act quickly. Our credit would be good with future generations.

John Broadhead is the President of the Earthlife Canada Foundation,    and the Coordinator of the BC Endangered Spaces Project.

 

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1  INTRODUCTION

In recent years, many of the conservation efforts in the coastal temperate forests of British Columbia have focussed on the need to preserve entire, intact watersheds. Issues have included the

Tsitika, Windy Bay, the Stein, Khutzeymateen and Carmanah watersheds, among others. New watershed issues continue to surface in the 1990s as public conservation groups and professionals advance arguments about the need to set aside entire watersheds as logical representative units.

A number of parks system planners, researchers in biological processes and conservation professionals also argue that an entire watershed is the most appropriate conservation unit in the coastal temperate forest. Lertzman, Kremsater and Bunnell (in prep.) have recently undertaken a comprehensive review of this topic.

If a watershed is the most logical unit to consider for the conservation of representative ecological units in the coastal temperate forest, and if it is the unit that may be large enough to prevent fragmentation of important wildlife habitats and to preserve recreational and wilderness values, then it is important to answer a number of questions:

• How many undeveloped watersheds remain in the coastal temperate forest of BC?
• Where are they?
• What size are they?
• How many watersheds are presently protected, and where and how large are they?
• What ecological units do these protected watersheds, and the remaining undeveloped watersheds, represent?

In asking these questions, this paper has focussed on primary watersheds–defined below as complete drainage systems flowing into salt water–larger than 5,000 ha. Primary watersheds are proposed as the most logical units for conservation purposes, but it is recognized that secondary and tertiary watersheds as defined in other papers (Hall and McLellan, 1990; Wilkinson, 1990) may also offer valuable conservation opportunities. The size of 5,000 ha was arbitrarily chosen because it was practical for an analysis of the entire BC coast. However, it should be noted that the report of the Wilderness Advisory Committee (1986) suggests that 5,000 ha is the minimum appropriate size for an area to be considered wilderness.

In answering these questions, this paper provides an information base for conservation planning, and for getting away from the “last unlogged watershed” syndrome. It systematically assesses the primary watersheds of the coastal temperate forests of BC; presents a gap analysis of protected watersheds by geographical region and ecosection; and identifies watershed conservation options either available or foregone.

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2  DEFINITIONS

Primary watershed – A primary watershed includes all the land area draining into a stream system that has its terminus in salt water. It is a complete drainage area from salt water to height of land, including all the tributary drainage areas of the main stream. For brevity, the term ‘watershed’ is sometimes used alone in this analysis, where it should be taken to mean a primary system unless otherwise stated.

 

Developed watershed – A watershed that has been, or is presently being, significantly affected by logging activities, highways or other industrial development such as powerlines and pipelines. Past or present disturbance exceeds two percent of the watershed area or, in the case of watersheds greater than 10,000 ha, is greater than 250 ha. Watersheds that have active logging, road construction or other on-going activity have been included in this category if the currently approved activities will exceed two percent of the watershed or 250 ha.

 

Undeveloped watershed – A watershed in which less than two percent of the area or, in the case of watersheds greater than 10,000 ha, less than 250 ha has been affected by industrial activity. Two types of undeveloped watersheds are described, as follows:

 

Pristine watershed – A watershed in which there is virtually no evidence of past human or industrial activities. Any past small scale removal of trees–including selective logging of individual trees, small patch cutting or land clearing–is limited to less than five ha.

 

Modified watershed – A watershed that has been slightly affected by a limited amount of industrial activity, such as past or recent logging with or without roads, powerlines, pipelines, mining, settlements or roads. The amount of the watershed affected is less than two percent of its area; or, in the case of watersheds greater than 10,000 ha, is less than 250 ha.

 

Protected watershed – A watershed the entire area of which is protected within a National Park, Provincial Park, Park Reserve, Ecological Reserve, Recreational Area or Wilderness Area. The different types of protected area status provide different levels of protection. In the case of Recreational Areas and Wilderness Areas, logging and some other activities are prohibited, but mineral exploration and road development may be permitted.

 

Partially protected watershed – A watershed in which more than ten percent and less than 100 percent of the watershed area is protected. Watersheds in which less than ten percent is protected are not included in this classification because, although site specific ecosystems may be protected, the protected areas do not contribute significantly to the protection of the watershed.

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3  METHODS

The steps involved in creating this inventory of watersheds in the coastal temperate forest of BC included: compiling a list of primary watersheds; measuring their area; determining their development status, biogeoclimatic zonation and ecoregional classification; and identifying protected areas that encompass all or parts of them.

 

Listing of Watersheds

The BC watershed coding system–known as the “watershed dictionary”–provides a hierarchical listing of primary streams and their tributaries and sub-tributaries (BC Ministry of Environment, 1988a). This provided the framework for identifying primary watersheds and assessing their sizes.

The coding system assigns a 4-digit code to each primary stream or river, preceeded by a 3-digit geographical region code. Each tributary stream in the watershed that can be identified on a 1:50,000 scale map retains the code of the primary stream, plus a 3-digit suffix denoting its location in the sequence of tributaries.

The numerical string for each tributary occupies a single line in the coding system printout. Because a rough correlation was ascertained between the number of coded tributaries of a primary watershed and its area, the number of lines in the printout occupied by each 4-digit code primary watershed was used to identify over 600 primary watersheds that possibly exceeded 5,000 ha in area.

 

Measuring Area

Each primary watershed was then drawn on a 1:250,000 scale NTS contour map and measured with a planimeter to obtain its area. Progressively smaller primary watersheds (those with fewer entries in the dictionary) were located and measured until it was ascertained that all watersheds larger than 5,000 ha had been identified.

Some short-cuts were possible through the use of existing information. On Vancouver Island, boundaries of most primary watersheds had been drawn on 1:50,000 NTS contour maps by Ministry of Environment (MoE) staff, which were loaned by the Ministry to this project. Additional watersheds identified from the dictionary as possibly exceeding 5,000 ha were added to these maps. The areas of 189 watersheds on Vancouver Island were determined with a Hewlett Packard HP 9825A calculator and digitizing table.

On the Queen Charlotte Islands, areas for some watersheds were available from Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) Fish Habitat Inventory and Information Program (1989, 1990a, 1990b, 1990c). The areas of 16 watersheds which exceeded 5,000 ha were checked and used. Boundaries of an additional 14 watersheds were drawn on 1:250,000 NTS contour maps and measured with a Koizumi Placom KP-90N digital planimeter.

For the rest of the BC mainland coast and adjacent islands, no similar mapping of watershed boundaries or calculations of their sizes existed. Because of the large area involved, the boundaries of all primary watersheds identified from the dictionary were drawn on 1:250,000 NTS contour maps. Area calculations were made with the planimeter. A total of 416 primary watersheds areas were delineated and measured.

In all, size calculations were obtained for 640 primary watersheds in the coastal temperate forest of BC–619 by planimeter measurement and 21 from other sources. Three hundred and fifty-four of these primary watersheds exceed 5,000 ha in size (listed in Appendix 1).

Development Status

According to the definitions provided in Section 2 above, all 354 watersheds greater than 5,000 ha were classified as either pristine, modified or developed through a combination of interviews and map analysis. Close cooperation was maintained with the BC Ministry of Forests (MoF). Recent MoF reports (Hall and McLellan, 1990; Lian and Wilkinson, 1990; Wilkinson, 1990) were checked and reviewed with the authors and with district office staff. Personal interviews were conducted with staff in five districts, telephone interviews in three. Supplementary and collaborative information was obtained in person or by phone from forest company staff; BC MoE district and regional offices; DFO district offices; and other knowledgeable individuals.

If a primary watershed was identified in interviews as modified, air photos and detailed forest cover maps were examined for verification. If it was found that limited past or present industrial activity had occurred, the areas affected were measured from maps or air photos. If a primary watershed was identified as pristine, maps and air photos were examined and an attempt was made to corroborate from two separate sources.

Satellite imagery at a scale of 1:125,000 was reviewed for Vancouver Island, but for most other areas of the BC coast it was neither readily available nor within the project budget.

 

Mapping Biogeoclimatic Zones and Ecoregions

The term coastal temperate forest is applied in this report to the Coastal Western Hemlock (CWH) and Coastal Douglas-Fir (CDF) biogeoclimatic zones, as described by the Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification system (Pojar et al., 1987; BC MoF, 1988). The CWH and CDF zones define the areal extent of the coastal temperate forest, and provide the basis for complete summaries of the vegetation associations present in the forest type.

These zones are shown on the map in Figure 1. CWH boundaries were mapped onto 1:600,000 base maps to determine the extent of coastal temperate forest extending  east of the Coast Mountains in watersheds such as the Fraser, Bella Coola, Dean, Skeena, and Nass.

To describe the distribution of developed, undeveloped and protected primary watersheds for purposes of a gap analysis of protected areas, it is necessary to divide the broad biogeoclimatic zones into more spatially coherent physiographic units. The Ecoregion Classification System provides a suitable framework for this purpose (BC MoE, 1988b; DeMarchi, 1990; DeMarchi et al., 1990).

The Ecoregion Classification System uses a hierarchical system of ecoprovinces, ecoregions and ecosections. The 2 ecoprovinces, 9 ecoregions and 16 ecosections that contain the coastal temperate forest are described and mapped in Figure 3 in Section 7. The descriptions of ecosections are from DeMarchi et al. (1990) and BC MoE (1988b).

 

Protected Watersheds

Current boundaries of protected areas were obtained in consultation with the BC Ministry of Lands & Parks and drawn onto 1:250,000 maps with the watershed boundaries. From these, protected watersheds were determined (see Appendix 2); and the protected portions of partially protected watersheds were measured with a planimeter. Also, the areas of coastal temperate forest protected in five large partially protected coastal watersheds were  measured from 1:500,000 biogeoclimatic unit maps for the Vancouver and Prince Rupert Forest regions (BC MoF, 1985; BC MoF & Lands, 1988). This information is in Appendix 3.

 

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4  Caveats

Several important caveats should be kept in mind while reading this paper. First, the reporting framework of entire primary watersheds (defined in Section 2) was used rigorously–with three exceptions. Those tributaries of the Fraser, Skeena and Nass rivers that are within the coastal temperate forest (CWH zone) and that enter these rivers within the range of tidal influence were included as primary watersheds.

Second, the strict application of development status criteria in some watersheds may imply a lesser significance as conservation opportunities. This is not intended. For example, the Tahsish on the west coast of Vancouver Island is classified as a developed watershed because of logging in the headwaters of the main river. Yet the lower portion of the Tahsish and two tributary watersheds (the Kwois and the Silburn) form a contiguous and pristine unit, and as such have been identified by a number of sources as providing an excellent conservation opportunity. Another example is the Kitlope system on the North coast, classified as modified because of 30 ha of logging in an otherwise pristine watershed of 275,000 ha. In other words, a developed or modified status is not meant to imply an absence of values worth protecting.

Third, this analysis is concerned solely with the number and distribution of pristine, modified and developed primary watersheds–among which there is tremendous variation in ecological characteristics. Those in southern BC at low to middle elevations are almost entirely productive forest, while those on the outer north coast are largely bog and scrub forest. Some watersheds at the heads of coastal inlets have extensive areas of avalanche tracks and glaciers and little productive forest. The distribution and abundance of fish, wildlife and other features is also highly variable, and no account was made of these differences.

Fourth, watershed boundaries were carefully drawn to follow heights of land.  In many watersheds, they sometimes include consid-erable sub-alpine and alpine vegetation in addition to CWH and CDF, but are still counted as coastal temperate forest watersheds. Also, boundaries include only those areas which drain into a watershed above an estuary. Thus, if an area adjoining a pristine watershed–for example, beside an estuary or nearby on an inlet, but not draining into the primary stream–has been logged or otherwise developed, the watershed is still classified as pristine. Some pristine watersheds have extensive logging on the inlets adjacent to their estuaries.

Fifth, the use of the terms “developed” and “undeveloped” to describe watersheds may imply a value judgement to some that is not intended. They are used for the sake of compatibility with MoF data-base terminology. The reader will note that this report separates undeveloped watersheds into two sub-groups–either pristine or slightly modified by development (see Section 2)–a distinction not made by MoF.

Finally, considerable judgement was necessary in classifying watersheds as pristine, modified or developed, and in identifying partially protected watersheds. Clarifying comments for some watersheds are provided with the database in Appendix 1.

 

5  PROVINCIAL SUMMARY

Three hundred and fifty-four (354) primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha have been identified in the coastal temperate forest of BC. Two hundred and forty-one of these are between 5,000-20,000 ha; 88 are between 20,000-100,000 ha; and 25 primary watersheds are larger than 100,000 ha (see Table 1).

Seventy-two of these primary watersheds are pristine (20 percent), and show virtually no sign of industrial activity. Forty-six are modified (13 percent), showing relatively minor signs of industrial activity. Two hundred and thirty-six have been developed (67 percent) through past or current logging, mining, road access or other industrial activity. Definitions for pristine, modified and developed are in Section 2.

TABLE 1

 

5.1      Development Status Summary

5,000-20,000 ha

There are 241 primary watersheds in this size class, which contains the greatest number of pristine and modified watersheds. Twenty-five percent (61) are pristine; 15 percent (37) are modified; and 59 percent (143) are developed.

 

20,000-100,000 ha

There are 88 primary watersheds in this size range. Twelve percent (11) are pristine; nine percent (8) are modified; and 78 percent (69) are developed. Eight of the 11 pristine primary watersheds in this size class are on the North Coast, including: the Ecstall (84,000 ha), a tributary of the Skeena; and the Tsaytis (42,600 ha) and Kowesas (33,000 ha), both in Gardner Canal. There is one pristine watershed in this size class on the west side of Vancouver Island–the Megin (24,300 ha); one on the Mid Coast–the Skowquiltz (28,900 ha); and one on the Queen Charlottes–the Hancock (20,800 ha).

Larger than 100,000 ha

There are 25 primary watersheds in the coastal temperate forest in this size class, none of which are pristine. One is modified–the Kitlope (275,100 ha), at the south end of Gardner Canal. An island of about 30 ha in the lower Kitlope has been logged, but the rest of the watershed is pristine. There are no other pristine or modified primary watersheds in this size range in BC.

 

5.2  PROTECTED STATUS SUMMARY

5,000-20,000 ha

Eight entire primary watersheds containing coastal temperate forest are protected in this size class–three in Naikoon Provincial Park, four in the Fjordland Recreational Area and one in Strathcona Provincial Park. Six of the eight are pristine (two of the watersheds in the Fjordland RA contain small areas that were logged before the protected area was established, and are modified, not pristine).

20,000-100,000 ha

In this size class, one entire primary watershed is protected as a Recreational Area: the 56,800 ha Gitnadoix, a tributary in the Skeena system. It is considered modified, rather than pristine, because of a small area of past logging on the flats near the mouth of the river. Three primary watersheds in this size range are partially protected in Strathcona Provincial Park, all of which drain towards the western shore of Vancouver Island. Two of these are developed and one is pristine–the Megin (24,300 ha), about 3,000 ha of which is protected.

Larger than 100,000 ha

No entire primary watersheds are protected in this size class. While there are seven of this size where some portion is in a provincial park, most of the areas protected are not coastal temperate forest (CWH zone); and all seven of them are affected by development in the watershed adjacent to park boundaries or in the park.

 

TABLE 2

 

6  RESULTS BY GEOGRAPHICAL REGION

To report the distribution of pristine and modified primary watersheds in the coastal temperate forest of BC, the coast has been broken into seven geographical regions, as follows:

 

• Fraser Lower Mainland (FLM)–the mainland coast south of the Sechelt Peninsula, including tributaries in the lower Fraser that are mostly within the CWH zone.
• South Coast (SC)–the mainland coast between Sechelt Inlet and Cape Caution, including the coastal islands between Vancouver Island and the mainland.
• Eastern Vancouver Island (EVI)–the east coast of Vancouver Island south of Cape Scott.
• Western Vancouver Island (WVI)–the west coast of Vancouver Island south of Cape Scott.
• Mid Coast (MC)–the mainland coast between Cape Caution and Finlayson Head (at the north end of Finlayson Channel near Bella Bella) including the adjacent coastal islands.
• North Coast (NC)–the mainland coast between Finlayson Head and the US border in Portland Canal, including adjacent coastal islands and tributaries in the lower Skeena and Nass rivers that are mostly within the CWH zone.
• Queen Charlotte Islands (QCI)–all of the Queen Charlotte Islands.

 

In the northwest corner of BC, there are several major watersheds that contain coastal temperate forest in their lower reaches, the greatest proportion of which occurs across the international border in Alaska, such as the Bear, Unuk, Stikine, Whiting, Taku and Chilkat watersheds. These have not been included here because the extent of coastal temperate forest in their BC portions is very small relative to total watershed size. Despite their exclusion, these watersheds may offer some important conservation opportunities, particularly since some of their lower reaches are protected in Alaska.

All of coastal BC’s primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha are listed in Appendix 1, which is the annotated database sorted by geographical region. Undeveloped watersheds (protected and unprotected) are mapped in Figure 2 on page 20, as are the geographical region boundaries.

 

6.1  Fraser Lower Mainland

The Fraser Lower Mainland region contains a total of 30 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha. Seventeen are located between the US border and Sechelt Inlet; 13 are tributary watersheds in the Lower Fraser but are treated as primary watersheds in this study. Eleven of these are larger than 20,000 ha; five are larger than 100,000 ha.

All 30 watersheds in this region have been subject to extensive logging, urban development and clearing for agriculture, and none are pristine or modified.

No entire primary watersheds of any size are protected in the Fraser Lower Mainland region. And because they are all developed, there are no opportunities to protect an intact, undeveloped primary watershed in the region.

Parts of the upper reaches of three large watersheds–the Harrison, Pitt and Stave–are protected, although their lower reaches have been extensively developed. Parts of the upper Pitt and of six tributaries to the Harrison are protected in Garibaldi Provincial Park. Part of the upper Stave and a tributary watershed are protected in Golden Ears and Garibaldi Provincial Parks.

The total area of the three watersheds is about 1,057,000 ha, yet the protected portions are small fractions of the total area of coastal temperate forest in them. The area protected totals about 149,500 ha, of which 42,600 ha is coastal temperate forest (CWH)–21,300 ha in the Pitt, 17,500 ha in the Harrison, and 3,800 in the Stave. Most of the protected area in these three watersheds is at high elevation, and not in the coastal temperate forest zone.

 

6.2  South Coast

The South Coast region contains 54 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha. Eighty-nine percent (48) are developed. Only one pristine watershed remains: the Paradise (9,500 ha) in Bute Inlet.

The remaining five watersheds in this region are modified due to logging or road construction in the past: the Ahnuhati (19,000 ha), Kwalate (7,800 ha) and Matsiu (6,500 ha) in Knight Inlet; the Ahta (6,800 ha) in Bond Sound; and the Waump (10,800 ha) in Allison Sound. At least two–the Kwalate and Matsiu–are planned for further logging in the near future.

Twenty-one of the watersheds are larger than 20,000 ha and six are larger than 100,000 ha, but there are no pristine or modified watersheds of such size remaining in the region. There are no protected or partially protected primary watersheds of any size in the South Coast region.

 

6.3  Eastern Vancouver Island

The Eastern Vancouver Island region contains 30 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha. All but one are developed. The Shushartie (7,300 ha) is modified. None are pristine. The Tsitika is sometimes referred to as an “unlogged” watershed, but about nine percent of it has been logged (MOF, 1990).

In the Shushartie, 24 ha were logged in the upper watershed around 1988-89; and further logging is proposed in 1992-94 (Hall and McLellan, 1990). Wilkinson (1990) identified the Shushartie as the only “undeveloped” primary watershed greater than 5,000 ha on the east side of Vancouver Island. He also found three in the 1,000-5,000 ha size range that are modified at present.

No entire primary watersheds of any size are protected on the east coast of Vancouver Island. The Shushartie is the only option to protect an undeveloped watershed larger than 5,000 ha.

One large system on Eastern Vancouver Island is partially protected. The upper Campbell, including several tributaries in excess of 5,000 ha, is protected in Strathcona Provincial Park. Hall and McLellan (1990) and Wilkinson (1990) provide a list of these protected tributary watersheds, although some of the tributaries listed in the former as “unlogged” would be considered developed using the criteria in this paper, because of the extent of past logging, mining and road development. The unprotected portion of the Campbell watershed has been heavily developed by logging, road construction and hydro-electric development.

Other partially protected watersheds in the EVI region include: a patchwork of six Ecological Reserves within the Tsitika River watershed; and portions of the upper Puntledge (tributary to the Courtenay) and the upper Salmon in Strathcona Park. The protected portions of these, however, are all substantially less than 10 percent of the watersheds (see Appendix 1). While they protect important biological and recreational features, they do not protect intact watershed values.

 

6.4  Western Vancouver Island

The Western Vancouver Island region contains 60 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha. Eighty-eight percent (53) are developed, two are modified and five are pristine.

The two modified watersheds are the Klaskish (5,200 ha) and Power (5,500 ha), both located in the Kyuquot-Brooks area. Six kilometres of road were built in the lower Klaskish about 1970, and two kilometres of logging road were built on the north side of the lower watershed in 1990. A total of 78 ha were logged in the Power watershed in the 1940s and -60s (Hall and McLelland, 1990).

The five pristine watersheds are: the Sydney (5,900 ha), Megin (24,300 ha) and Moyeha (18,200 ha) in Clayoquot Sound; and the Nasparti (6,000 ha) and East Creek (5,000 ha) in the Kyuquot-Brooks area. Of the 13 primary watersheds larger than 20,000 ha on Western Vancouver Island, the Megin is the only one that is not developed.

These five pristine and two modified watersheds are corroborated by Wilkinson (1990), who also identifies 15 undeveloped primary watersheds in the 1,000-5,000 ha range on the west coast of the island, and three more in that size range on offshore islands.

Hall and McLelland (1990) list Bulson Creek in Clayoquot Sound as an undeveloped primary watershed. One hundred and sixty hectares of logging in the Bulson, however, affect slightly more than 2 percent of the watershed, and so the Bulson is classified as developed in this paper. Similarly, 164 ha of logging and additional road building in the upper Carmanah affect more than 2 percent of that watershed, which has also been classified as developed here.

There are two significant areas of contiguous undeveloped primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha on the west coast of Vancouver Island. One is Clayoquot Sound, where the Moyeha, Megin, Sydney and some smaller watersheds are adjacent to each other in the vicinity of Herbert, Shelter and Sydney Inlets. The second significant area is around Brooks Peninsula from Ououkinsh Inlet north to Klaskish Inlet, where the Power, Nasparti, East, Klaskish and some smaller watersheds adjoin each other.

Of the 60 watersheds on Western Vancouver Island, only the Moyeha is fully protected, laying entirely within Strathcona Provincial Park. The Moyeha is pristine. In 1988, a provincial government advisory committee recommended extending the boundaries of Strathcona Park to include a 100-ha addition in the estuary of the Moheya and about 2,500 ha in Moyeha Bay to ensure that the entire watershed retains its wilderness qualities (Strathcona Park Advisory Committee, 1988).

Six primary watersheds on west Vancouver Island are partially protected in Provincial Parks. Five of these have logging in other parts of the watershed or within the area now included in the Park. These are: the upper Burman, upper Gold and upper Bedwell in Strathcona Provincial Park; a portion of the lower Fisherman in Cape Scott Provincial Park; and the lower half of the Carmanah, protected partly in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and in the new 3,300-ha Carmanah Pacific Provincial Park.

The Megin, at 24,299 ha the largest pristine watershed remaining on Vancouver Island, is the only primary watershed that is both undeveloped and partially protected. About 3,000 ha of the headwaters of the Megin and a tributary (Mitla Creek) are protected in Strathcona Provincial Park. The Strathcona Park Advisory Committee report (1988) recommended a study to consider adding the rest of the Megin-Mitla watershed to Strathcona Park.

One smaller pristine primary watershed, the Tsusiat (3,300 ha), is entirely protected in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Four pristine watersheds between 1,000 and 2,500 ha are protected in the Brooks Recreational Area (Wilkinson, 1990).

 

6.5  Mid Coast

The BC coast north of Vancouver Island is more remote and rugged, and is consequently less developed. The Mid Coast region contains 50 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha, of which 16 are over 20,000 ha and four over 100,000 ha. Forty-two percent (21) have been developed; ten are modified (including three over 20,000 ha); and 19 are pristine. Eighteen of the pristine watersheds are in the 5,000-20,000 ha size class. One is larger–the Skowquiltz (28,900 ha), in Dean Channel.

There are some large, contiguous areas of undeveloped primary watersheds in this region, on both sides of Dean Channel and in the Mussel-Kynoch area in the Fjordland Recreational Area (see Figure 2). On the north side of Dean Channel, two modified watersheds–the Nascall (38,750 ha) and the Sutslem (23,125 ha)–have seen little development and are adjacent to the Skowquiltz (28,875 ha), which is pristine. These three appear to form the largest contiguous area of undeveloped watersheds in the Mid Coast.

Four primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in the Mid Coast region are entirely protected in the Fjordland Recreational Area. Two are pristine and two are modified, due to small areas of logging about 35 years ago.

Two large watersheds in the Mid Coast are partially protected. The north side of the Talchako watershed (a tributary to the Bella Coola) and its tributaries are protected in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park; as is part of the Dean watershed, including several tributaries. The total area of the Dean and Bella Coola protected in Tweedsmuir Park is about 450,000 ha, but 95 percent of it is interior, sub-boreal or high elevation forest types. Only about 8,000 ha of the Dean and 11,000 ha of the Bella Coola are protected coastal temperate forest–small fractions of the total area of CWH in these large watersheds (see Appendix 3).

Nine undeveloped primary watersheds in the 1,000-5,000 ha size range are protected in the Hakai and Fjordland RA’s (see Appendix 4).

 

6.6  North Coast

There are 100 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in the North Coast region. Thirty-eight of these are developed, 26 are modified, and 36 are pristine. Thirty-three are greater than 20,000 ha; eight of which are pristine and six modified.

None of the four primary watersheds larger than 100,000 ha are pristine but one is modified–the Kitlope (275,100 ha)–which is the largest undeveloped watershed in the BC coastal temperate forest.

The largest contiguous area of undeveloped primary watersheds in the coastal temperate forest of BC appears to be in the Gardner Canal area south of Kemano (see Figure 2). This area encompasses the Kitlope and four others that are pristine, including the Kowesas (33,250 ha) and the Tsaytis (42,600 ha).

There is also a significant group of undeveloped watersheds in Gardner Canal west of Kemano. It encompasses six primary watersheds that are pristine, including the Owyacumish (9,500 ha), Brim (15,800 ha), Wahoo (22,000 ha) and the Kiltuish (31,200 ha). Logging has occurred along the shoreline of at least one inlet in this area.

A third large undeveloped area is on the north side of Douglas Channel, where four adjacent pristine watersheds–the Gilttoyees, Foch Lagoon, Foch and a small unnamed watershed–adjoin a number of undeveloped primary watersheds to the north that are tributaries of the lower Skeena–the Ecstall, Khtada and Gitnadoix.

Also in the North Coast region, the Khutzeymateen and Exchamsics form a large contiguous area of slightly modified watersheds.

There are no entire primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in the North Coast region that are pristine and protected with full park status. One entire large primary watershed, the Gitnadoix (56,800 ha), a tributary of the Skeena, is protected in a Recreation Area. The Gitnadoix has a small area of past logging.

One small watershed, the Gingietl (2,900 ha), in the coastal temperate forest zone of the lower Nass, is protected as an Ecological Reserve.

There are no primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha that are partially protected on the North Coast.

 

6.7  Queen Charlotte Islands

The Queen Charlotte Islands contain 30 primary watersheds in excess of 5,000 ha, five of which are greater than 20,000 ha. Fifty-seven percent (17) are developed; thirty-seven percent (11) are pristine; and two are modified. One of the pristine watersheds, the Hancock, is larger than 20,000 ha.

A group of undeveloped primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha occurs in the Duu Guusd area on the northwest coast of Graham Island–Seal, Coates, Otard and Beresford on the west coast; and Jalun on the north coast. Another contiguous group on the north coast includes the Christie, Otun and Hancock, located between Naden Harbour and Masset Inlet.

Three entire pristine primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha are protected in Naikoon Provincial Park–the Hiellan, Oeanda and Cape Ball. No entire watersheds larger than 20,000 ha are protected.

Six entire undeveloped primary watersheds between 1,000 and 2,000 ha are protected in the Gwaii Haanas/South Moresby National Park Reserve. Mace Creek (2,000 ha), a pristine watershed on the west coast of Graham Island, is entirely protected in an Ecological Reserve.

Two modified watersheds, the Sangan and Mayer, are partially protected in Naikoon Park and the Drizzle Lake Ecological Reserve.

 

6.8  Summary of Geographical Regions

In the southern portion of the BC coastal temperate forest–encompassing the Fraser Lower Mainland, South Coast and both Vancouver Island regions–there are 174 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha. Six of them are pristine (three percent). Eight are modified (five percent). In the same area, there are 59 watersheds larger than 20,000 ha, only one of which remains undeveloped–the Megin (24,300 ha) on Western Vancouver Island.

In the northern portion of the BC coastal temperate forest–encompassing the Mid Coast, North Coast and Queen Charlotte Islands regions–many more undeveloped primary watersheds remain. There are 180 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha, of which 66 are pristine (37 percent) and 38 are modified (21 percent). There are 54 primary watersheds larger than 20,000 ha, of which ten are pristine (19 percent) and nine are modified (17 percent).

In the southern regions, the areas that yet contain a number of contiguous undeveloped watersheds are: Clayoquot Sound and the Kyuquot-Brooks area on Western Vancouver Island; and the north side of Knight Inlet in the South Coast region.

In the Fraser Lower Mainland and South Coast regions, there are no undeveloped primary watersheds greater than 20,000 ha, and only one pristine watershed remains–the Paradise (9,380 ha).

Groups of contiguous undeveloped watersheds occur in several places in the north. The largest group in BC is in Gardner Canal, south of Kemano. Others exist in western Gardner Canal, Dean Channel, Douglas Channel, the Khutzeymateen/Exchamsics, and on the west and north coasts of the Queen Charlotte Islands.

 

Parks and Ecological Reserves

There is only one entire primary watershed larger than 5,000 ha on Vancouver Island or the mainland coast of BC that has full protection in a Park or Ecological Reserve–the Moyeha (18,220 ha) in Strathcona Provincial Park, which is pristine (see Appendix 2). Three entire pristine watersheds are protected in Naikoon Provincial Park on the Queen Charlotte Islands–the Hiellen (13,400 ha), Oeanda (10,370 ha), and Cape Ball (16,120 ha), which are largely muskeg or bog forest types.

 

Recreation Areas

Two pristine and two modified watersheds occur in the Fjordland Recreational Area. The Gitnadoix Recreational Area contains the largest entire protected watershed in coastal BC (58,000 ha).

 

7  RESULTS BY REGIONAL ECOSECTION

This section describes the distribution of undeveloped and protected primary watersheds in BC on the basis of ecological regions, rather than generalized geographic regions. It constitutes a gap analysis of protected areas with respect to intact, coastal temperate forest watersheds. Of course, a comprehensive gap analysis would examine in detail many other factors such as: rare, threatened and endangered species; occurance of representative forest stand types; etc. It is useful, however, to examine the occurrence of protected entire watersheds because, where they occur, such physiographic units are thought to provide optimum protection to the species and ecological process that they contain.

The Ecoregion Classification System developed by the BC MoE (BC MoE, 1988b; DeMarchi, 1990; DeMarchi et al., 1990) defines two large ecoprovinces which completely contain the coastal temperate forest of BC. The two ecoprovinces are divided into 12 ecoregions, some of which are further subdivided to describe a total of 18 ecosections (see Figure 3).

Where an ecoregion is subdivided into ecosections, the ecosection is the unit used to describe the distribution of watersheds. For those ecoregions that are not subdivided into ecosections, the ecoregion has been used as the descriptive unit. Because some ecoregions and ecosections do not contain any primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha, a total of 17 units are described.

The ecoregions and ecosections were identified from 1:500,000 Regional Wildlife Habitat Maps (MoE). Where a large primary watershed occupies two or more units, it is listed under the ecosection containing the greater part. Data on watersheds in the ecoregion and ecosection units of coastal BC are provided in Appendix 1.

 

7.1 Georgia Depression Ecoprovince

The Georgia Depression Ecoprovince is a large basin encompassing southeastern Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and the Lower Mainland. It corresponds closely to the Coastal Douglas-fir zone, and is characterized by an effective rainshadow in the lee of the Vancouver Island Ranges and the Olympic peninsula.

This ecoprovince contains three ecoregions, two of which are subdivided into four ecosections. Four of the units have primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha.

 

7.1.1  Strait of Georgia Ecoregion

The Strait of Georgia Ecoregion is a semi-enclosed, estuarine basin between southeastern Vancouver Island and the mainland. It includes a number of islands that have very dry and mild coastal climates. There is a high diversity and abundance of terrestial and marine wildlife. This ecoregion is not subdivided into ecosections.

There is one primary watershed larger than 5,000 ha in this ecoregion–the Main Lake system on Quadra Island. It is developed. All other smaller primary watersheds in this ecoregion also appear to be developed.

No primary watersheds are entirely or partially protected.

 

            7.1.2  Lower Mainland Ecoregion

This ecoregion is subdivided into two ecosections–the Fraser Lowland Ecosection and the Georgia Lowlands Ecosection.

 

   7.1.2.1  Fraser Lowland Ecosection

The Fraser Lowland Ecosection encompasses the Fraser River delta, estuary, lowlands and associated uplands. It contains eight primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha. All are developed.

No primary watersheds are entirely or partially protected.

 

      7.1.2.2  Georgia Lowlands Ecosection

This ecosection includes the areas of low relief at the base of the Coast Ranges along the sunshine Coast on the southern mainland. It contains no primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha.

 

            7.1.3  Eastern Vancouver Island Ecoregion

This ecoregion subdivides into the Leeward Island Mountains and the Nanaimo Lowlands Ecosections.

 

    7.1.3.1  Leeward Island Mountains Ecosection

The Leeward Islands Mountain Ecosection is a mountainous area extending from the crest of the Vancouver Island Ranges to the Nanaimo Lowlands, and covers the drier and warmer eastern side of Vancouver Island. It contains 20 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha. All are developed.

No entire watersheds in this ecosection are protected. One large primary watershed–the Campbell–is partially protected in Strathcona Provincial Park. As previously described, the protected area includes several tributary watersheds of the Campbell that are identified by Hall and McLellan (1990) as “unlogged” and by Wilkinson (1990) as “undeveloped,” but which are classed as developed using the criteria in this report.

Approximately 9,000 ha in the Upper Salmon watershed are protected in Strathcona Park, but as this is only seven percent of the primary watershed area, it is not considered to be partially protected.

 

     7.1.3.2  Nanaimo Lowlands Ecosection

The Nanaimo Lowlands Ecosection is situated on a coastal plain along the southeastern margin of Vancouver Island. It has a dry, mild climate, and the greatest diversity and abundance of wildlife on Vancouver Island. It contains four primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha. All are developed.

No primary watersheds are entirely or partially protected. As described in Section 5.2.3, about 3,000 ha of the upper Puntledge (a tributary of the Courtenay) are protected. This is only 3.5 percent of the primary watershed area and so it is not classed as partially protected.

 

7.2  Coast and Mountains Ecoprovince

The Coast and Mountains Ecoprovince extends along the coast from Oregon to Alaska. In BC, it encompasses the windward sides of the Coast mountains and Vancouver Island, and all of the Queen Charlotte Islands. Its range is fairly consistent with the CWH biogeoclimatic zone, but also includes the Mountain Hemlock and Alpine Tundra biogeoclimatic zones at higher elevations.

This ecoprovince contains seven ecoregions, four of which subdivide into 11 ecosections. In total, 13 ecoregion or ecosection units in the Coast and Mountains Ecoprovince contain primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha.

 

     7.2.1  Pacific and Cascade Ranges Ecoregion

This ecoregion encompasses the southern half of the BC mainland coast. It is subdivided into four ecosections.

 

            7.2.1.1  Southern Pacific Ranges Ecosection

The Southern Pacific Ranges ecosection, east of the Georgia Depression and extending north to Toba Inlet, is an area of high rain-fall and steep rugged mountains. The climate is milder than the Northern Pacific Ranges, but snowfall is high except at low elevations.

There are 28 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in this ecosection, all of which are developed.

No entire primary watersheds are protected and none that are undeveloped remain. Two large watersheds in excess of 100,000 ha–the Stave and Pitt–are partially protected. As explained in Section 6.1, much of the protected area is above the temperate forest zone and about 25,000 ha of the protected area in the two watersheds is CWH. Both of these partially protected watersheds are developed and some of the area now protected was logged many years ago.

 

            7.2.1.2  Eastern Pacific Ranges Ecosection

The Eastern Pacific Ranges ecosection is a mountainous inland area to the east of the Southern Pacific Ranges Ecosection. It has a relatively drier climate than other Pacific Ranges ecosections, and is transitional between the coast and interior.

There are seven primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in this ecosection. All are developed.

No entire primary watersheds are protected in this ecosection and no pristine or modified primary watersheds remain.

One large watershed, the Harrison, is partially protected because portions of six tributaries are within Garibaldi Provincial Park. As described in Section 6.1, the Harrison is developed and the protected area does not include any entire tributary watersheds. Of the 76,000 ha protected in the Harrison, 17,500 ha is coastal temperate forest.

 

   7.2.1.3  Outer Fjordland Ecosection

This ecosection is an area of rugged, low relief, encompassing the inlets, sounds, islands and peninsulas east of Johnson Strait and Seymour Narrows, and extending north to Cape Caution. It lacks the high mountains of the North Pacific Ranges, has a milder climate, and extensive steeply sloping shorelines. Snow depths are high except at low elevations near the ocean.

There are seven primary watersheds in this ecosection, all in the 5,000-20,000 ha size range. All are developed.

There are no protected or partially protected primary watersheds in this ecosection and no pristine or modified primary watersheds remain.

 

            7.2.1.4  Northern Pacific Ranges Ecosection

The Northern Pacific Ranges Ecosection is an area of steep, high mountains with extensive areas of permanent snow and ice. It is a wet, cold ecosection extending from Toba Inlet north to Burke Channel, and contains the highest mountains in the Coast Range of BC. Steep slopes, high snow depths, and common avalanche tracks combine with floodplains and salmon streams to create an exceptional range of habitats. Species diversity is high, but population abundance levels are low.

There are 50 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in this ecosection, 39 of which are developed (78 percent). Four systems in the 5,000-20,000 ha size range are pristine: the Paradise, Lockhart Gordon, Hotsprings and an unnamed watershed in South Bentinck Arm. Seven primary watersheds are modified. These include the 38,800 ha Smokehouse and six other primary watersheds in the 5,000-20,000 ha size range.

No entire undeveloped primary watersheds in this ecosection are protected, but there are opportunities to do so as noted above.

One primary watershed, the Bella Coola, is partially protected, but as discussed in Section 6.5, most of the protected area is interior or sub-boreal forest. About 11,000 ha of the 160,000 ha protected in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park is coastal temperate forest.

 

      7.2.2  Coastal Gap Ecoregion

This ecoregion is located on the outer mainland coast facing Queen Charlotte Sound and Hecate Strait, and is subdivided into two ecosections.

  7.2.2.1  Hecate Lowland Ecosection

The Hecate Lowland Ecosection is an area of low relief, consisting of islands, channels, rocks and lowlands on the outer mainland coast facing Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound. It has a mild climate and high precipitation, and snowfall is light or of short duration. Poor forest growth, rolling muskeg bogs of predominantly organic soils, and rock outcrops are common.

There are 26 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in this ecosection. Six are developed (23 percent). Fourteen, including the Lowe/Gamble (24,700 ha), are pristine. Six, all in the 5,000-20,000 size range, are modified.

There are no primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in this ecosection that are entirely or partially protected. However, numerous opportunities to protect undeveloped primary watersheds exist in this ecosection, including one larger than 20,000 ha. There are three watersheds in the 1,000-5,000 ha size range that are protected in the Hakai Recreational Area–one on Calvert Island and two on Hunter Island.

 

    7.2.2.2  Kitimat Ranges Ecosection

The Kitimat Ranges Ecosection is an area of steep-sided mountains located east of the Hecate Lowland Ecosection. It is characterized by high precipitation, coastal vegetation, and rugged mountains with deep snowfall. Mountains are lower in elevation than the Boundary Ranges to the north, so glaciers are less common.

This is the largest ecosection containing coastal temperate forest, and encompasses 103 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha–about 29 percent of the primary watersheds in the coastal temperate forest. Thirty-seven of these are developed (36 percent). Thirty-eight are pristine, including eight that are between 20,000-100,000 ha. Twenty-eight are modified, including seven between 20,000-100,00 ha; and one that is larger than 100,000 ha–the Kitlope (275,100 ha).

Five entire primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in this ecosection are protected in the Gitnadoix and Fjordland Recreational Areas. Two of these–the Kainet (7,800 ha) and Poison Cove (10,600 ha)–are pristine. The other three, including the Gitnadoix (56,800 ha), are modified.

One small pristine primary watershed–the Gingietl (2,870 ha) on the north shore of the Nass River–is entirely protected as an Ecological Reserve. Six others between 1,000-5,000 ha are protected in the Fjordland RA.

One large watershed, the Dean, is partially protected in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. As explained in Section 6.5, about 8,000 ha of the 307,000 ha protected is coastal temperate forest, and the protected area is a small percentage of the total coastal temperate forest in the watershed.

 

   7.2.3  Nass Ranges Ecoregion

The Nass Ranges Ecoregion is a mountainous area northeast of the Kitimat Ranges. Its climate is transitional between coastal and interior. This ecoregion is not subdivided into ecosections.

There are four primary watersheds in the coastal temperate forest in the ecoregion, all tributaries of the Skeena. All are developed.

There are no entire or partially protected watersheds in this ecoregion, and no opportunities to protect an undeveloped primary watershed remain.

 

            7.2.4  Boundary Ranges Ecoregion

This ecoregion extends north of the Nass River along the Alaska border into the north west corner of BC. As described in Section 6, there are no entire primary watersheds that are coastal temperate forest within BC in this ecoregion.

 

   7.2.5  Western Vancouver Island Ecoregion

This ecoregion is subdivided into three ecosections.

 

  7.2.5.1  Windward Island Mountains Ecosection

The Windward Island Mountains Ecosection is the area of lowlands, islands and mountains on the outer western side of Vancouver Island.

There are 44 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in this ecosection–35 in the 5,000-20,000 ha class, and nine in the 20,000-100,000 ha class. Thirty-seven are developed (84 percent). Two, the Klaskish and Power, are modified. Five are pristine. One of these, the Megin, is larger than 20,000 ha. The other four–the Moyeha, Sydney, East and Nasparti–are in the 5,000-20,000 ha range.

One entire pristine primary watershed larger than 5,000 ha in this ecosection is protected in Strathcona Park: the Moyeha (18,000 ha). Five smaller pristine primary watersheds are also protected (Wilkinson, 1990): the Tsusiat (3,300 ha) in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve; and four in the 1,000-2,500 ha range in the Brooks Recreational Area.

One pristine watershed, the Megin, is partially protected. It is the only partially protected watershed in BC that is pristine (described in Section 6.4).

Three other primary watersheds–the Carmanah, Bedwell and Burman–are partially protected, although logging has occurred in the unprotected portions.

 

            7.2.5.2  Northern Island Mountains Ecosection

The Northern Island Mountains Ecosection is an area of wide valleys and mountains, located south of Johnson Strait in the northern portion of Vancouver Island. It is similar to the Leeward Island Ranges except for a wetter summer climate.

There are seven primary watersheds in this ecosection. All are developed.

There are no entire protected watersheds of any size in this ecosection, and no opportunities to protect a pristine or modified primary watershed remain.

One, the Gold, is partially protected in Strathcona Park. The Park includes part of the upper Gold and parts of two tributaries–the Ucona and Heber–that are developed in the portions outside the Park. Some logging and road construction has occurred within Park boundaries in the Gold and Ucona watersheds.

 

7.2.5.3  Nahwitti Lowland Ecosection

The Nahwitti Lowland Ecosection is located at the northern end of Vancouver Island. It is an area of rolling topography and high precipitation, which combine to produce extensive wetlands characterized by red cedar scrub forests and dense undergrowth.

There are 15 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in this ecosection. Fourteen are developed (93 percent). One, the Shushartie, is modified. Wilkinson (1990) identifies three undeveloped primary watersheds in the 1,000-2,500 ha size range: the Irony (2,300 ha); the Skinner (1,300 ha); and an unnamed watershed (1,000 ha) southeast of the Shushartie.

No entire primary watersheds of any size are protected in this ecosection, and the Shushartie is the only opportunity to protect an undeveloped watershed larger than 5,000 ha.

One primary watershed is partially protected–1,125 ha of the lower Fisherman in Cape Scott Provincial Park. The watershed outside the park is developed.

 

            7.2.6  Queen Charlotte Lowland Ecoregion

The Queen Charlotte Lowland Ecoregion is an area of low relief, poor drainage and extensive muskegs and wetlands in the northeastern Queen Charlotte Islands. This ecoregion is not subdivided into ecosections.

It encompasses 11 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha, nine in the 5,000-20,000 ha range, and two in the 20,000-100,000 ha range. Two are developed (18 percent); two are modified; and seven are pristine, including the Hancock at 20,750 ha.

Three pristine primary watersheds–the Hiellen, Oeanda and Cape Ball–are entirely protected in Naikoon Provincial Park. Two others, both modified, are partially protected in the same park.

 

            7.2.7  Queen Charlotte Ranges Ecoregion

This ecoregion on the central and western portions of the Queen Charlotte Islands is subdivided into two ecosections.

 

7.2.7.1  Skidegate Plateau Ecosection

The Skidegate Plateau Ecosection is in the lee of the Queen Charlotte Ranges, located on central Graham Island and the northeast portion of Moresby Island.

There are 12 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in this ecosection. All are developed.

There are no protected or partially protected primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in this ecosection and no pristine or modified primary watersheds of this size remain.

One smaller pristine primary watershed, Windy Bay (1,850 ha), is protected in the Gwaii Haanas/South Moresby National Park Reserve.

 

      7.2.7.2  Windward Queen Charlotte Mountains Ecosection

The Windward Queen Charlotte Mountains Ecosection is located on the very wet and rugged western side of the Queen Charlotte Islands and southern Moresby Island.

There are seven primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in this ecosection, all in the 5,000-20,000 ha range. Three are developed, and four are pristine.

There are no protected or partially protected primary watersheds larger that 5,000 ha in this ecosection. In the smaller size class of pristine primary watersheds, one–the Mace (2,230 ha)–is protected in the Krajina Ecological Reserve. Three are protected in the Gwaii Haanas/South Moresby National Park Reserve–the Scudder, Luxana and Goski (all 1,100 ha). Two other smaller modified primary watersheds are protected in the Park Reserve.

 

7.3  Summary By Ecoregion and Ecosection Units

Two ecoprovinces encompass the coastal temperate forest in BC: the Georgia Depression, which includes southeastern Vancouver Island, the lower mainland and the Gulf Islands; and the Coast and Mountains, which includes the rest of coastal BC.

The Georgia Depression Ecoprovince contains thirty-three primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha. All are developed. Wilkinson (1990) found no primary watersheds larger than 1,000 ha that were undeveloped in the Vancouver Island portion of this ecoprovince.

There are no entire undeveloped primary watersheds that are protected in this ecoprovince, and no opportunities remain.

One–the Campbell–is partially protected in Strathcona Park. The protected area includes a number of tributary watersheds greater than 5,000 ha (Hall and McLellan, 1990; Wilkinson, 1990) but some, if not all of these are developed by this paper’s criteria.

The Coast and Mountains Ecoprovince contains 91 percent (321) of the 354 primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in BC. Sixty-three percent (202) of them are developed; 15 percent (47) are modified; and 22 percent (72) are pristine. This ecoprovince contains all of the undeveloped watersheds in the coastal temperate forest of BC.

Their distribution, however, is not spread evenly among ecoregion and ecosection units. Six of the units–the Southern Pacific Ranges, Eastern Pacific Ranges, Outer Fjordland, Skidegate Plateau, Northern Island Mountains and Nass Ranges–contain 20 percent (65) of the primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in the ecoprovince, but they are all developed.

The other seven ecosections contain all of the 72 pristine and 47 modified primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha. Most of these are in the Kitimat Ranges unit, which contains 29 percent (103) of the 354 primary watersheds in the coastal temperate forest in BC. Thirty-nine of the watersheds in this ecosection are pristine–53 percent of all pristine primary watersheds in BC. Twenty-eight watersheds are modified–61 percent of the BC total.

Five ecosections contain primary watersheds larger than 20,000 ha that are undeveloped. The Kitimat Ranges contains eight of the 11 pristine primary watersheds larger than 20,000 ha, and seven of the eight watersheds in this size range that are modified. It also contains the only primary watershed in BC larger than 100,000 ha that is undeveloped.

The Hecate Lowland, Windward Island Mountains and Queen Charlotte Lowland Ecosections each contain one pristine primary watershed larger than 20,000 ha. The North Pacific Ranges Ecosection contains one in this size range that is modified.

Three of the 13 ecosections or ecoregions in the Coast and Mountains Ecoprovince contain the nine primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in the coastal temperate forest that are entirely protected in a Park or Recreational Area. The Kitimat Ranges contains five of these–four in the Fjordland Recreational Area and one in the Gitnadoix Recreational Area. The Windward Island Mountains contains one–the Moyeha in Strathcona Provincial Park. In the Queen Charlotte Lowland, three are protected in Naikoon Provincial Park.

The other 10 ecosections or ecoregions in the Coast and Mountains Ecoprovince have no entire protected watersheds larger than 5,000 ha. Six  of these, as noted above, have no remaining undeveloped primary watersheds.

The four remaining ecosections without entire protected primary watersheds do present options. The North Pacific Ranges and Hecate Lowlands each contain ten or more undeveloped watersheds, including some larger than 20,000 ha. The Nahwitti Lowland contains one modified primary watershed. The Windward Queen Charlotte Mountains contains four pristine primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha.

 

8  SUMMARY OF PROTECTED PRIMARY WATERSHEDS

There are nine entirely protected primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in the coastal temperate forests of BC. These are listed in Appendix 2 and illustrated in Figure 2. Three are in Naikoon Provincial Park, four in the Fjordland Recreational Area, one in the Gitnadoix Recreational Area, and one in Strathcona Provincial Park. These represent three of the 17 ecosections or ecoregions in the coastal temperate forest of BC.

Only one of these, the Gitnadoix, is larger than 20,000 ha. Six are pristine. The other three have small areas of past logging and are modified.

Thirteen primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha in the coastal temperate forest are partially protected (see Appendix 3). Six of these are very large watersheds in which most of the protected area is not coastal temperate forest. Only one of the partially protected watersheds, the Megin on Vancouver Island, is undeveloped. The other 12 are all developed in the unprotected portions of the watershed, and in some cases have been developed within the protected area.

A total of 22 smaller, undeveloped primary watersheds in the 1,000-5,000 ha range have been identified as entirely protected in Parks, Recreational Areas or Ecological Reserves (see Appendix 4). These are distributed in five ecoregions or ecosections, three of which do not contain any entirely protected watershed larger than 5,000 ha (Hecate Lowlands, Skidegate Plateau and Windward Queen Charlotte Mountains); and two of which do (Kitimat Ranges and Windward Island Mountains).

In summary, six of the 17 ecosections in the coastal temperate forest of BC contain representative, protected, entire primary watersheds larger than 1,000 ha. Three ecosections are represented by protected primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha. Two ecosections that have no representation–the Northern Pacific Ranges and the Nahwitti Lowlands–do contain undeveloped primary watersheds larger than 5,000 ha that could be protected.

 

Page 34

THE COASTAL TEMPERATE RAIN FOREST

An Ecosystem Management Perspective

By Spencer B. Beebe & Edward C. Wolf

 

The issue of logging in the coastal temperate forests of western Canada and the United States has been marked by controversy and sometimes by bitter disputes between industry and conservation interests. While the media often focus on confrontational aspects of the issue, there have also been positive results that deserve better attention. One has been that society’s growing awareness of environmental values is changing the way we look at forests and creating new demands on resource managers. Under the rubric of Sustainable Development, we have begun to realize that economic security depends upon environmental integrity, and that industrial development that does not respect ecological limits cannot be tolerated.

But what are “ecological limits?” The search for answers has driven the scientific community to rethink old approaches to treating trees, wildlife and fish as separate entities and managing them as commodities in isolation from each other. We have begun to think in terms of ecosystems–of relationships between climate, geography and vegetation; of microbes and nutrient cycles; and of myriad species that were formerly of interest only to academics. New studies of forest ecology are providing perspectives that range from a global context through to local, site-specific forest types. And with the new insights, ideas for improved approaches to conservation and management of our forests are emerging–which is perhaps one  of the most positive results of the debate on old growth forests.

One effort to contribute to a global perspective is a recent study by US researchers Paul Alaback and James Weigand1, which describes a narrow band of land along coastlines in the temperate zone of both hemispheres as supporting a unique forest type, provisionally called the “Coastal Temperate Rain Forest.” This forest type or zone is distinguished not so much by its species, which can vary considerably, but rather by a unique set of ecological characteristics.

Coastal temperate rain forests present an ecological analogy to the biological phenomenon called “convergent evolution”–whereby unrelated species, in adapting to comparable environments in different parts of the world, evolve with similar physical and behavioural characteristics. Likewise, coastal forests in the temperate latitudes of both hemispheres often present striking similarities in structure and ecosystem function, despite obvious differences in species composition, site history and location. In southern Chile, for example, they contain broad-leaved and coniferous tree species, quite distinct from the fir, spruce and hemlock associations of western British Columbia.

Yet no matter where they occur, coastal temperate rain forests are clearly marked by the cycling of water between land and sea. Indeed, Alaback and Weigand have found three principle features that distinguish them from other temperate forest types: proximity to oceans (or in one unusual case, to a large inland sea); the presence of high mountains; and, high rainfall levels distributed throughout the year (2000 millimetres has been suggested as an annual minimum for the zone). In many ways, the productivity, biological diversity, and structural diversity of these forests can be described as the result of a unique set of dynamic links between marine and terrestrial environments. Though they may contain less biological diversity than several other forest types, their complement of plant and animal species is nonetheless striking –distinguished in part by the linkages between land and sea.

Abundant rainfall distributed through all  seasons, moderate temperatures and exposure to open-ocean weather systems all promote forest growth and structural diversification. Frequent fog nourishes an abundance of epiphytes in the canopy layer, such as mosses and lichens. The maritime climate also profoundly affects natural disturbance regimes. In contrast to many other temperate forest ecosystems, fire is relatively rare as a major disturbance. In fact, community- and landscape-level disturbances are rare, with the significant exception of clearcut logging. But frequent, localized disturbances–in particular wind-throws and rain-induced landslides on unstable slopes–create a multitude of small openings in the forest. These give rise to a multi-story canopy, characterized by mixed age classes of trees, including large numbers of dead and dying trees. The result is a patch-work mosaic of structural diversity, and thus a wide variety of microhabitats for life forms.

Another ecological characteristic of coastal temperate rain forests is the abundance of riparian habitats. Intricate networks of streams, wetlands and estuaries create a variety of habitats for freshwater and anadromous fish, for wildlife dependent on aquatic habitats, and for plants adapted to wet conditions. Stream courses create a high degree   of landscape connectivity, transporting nutrients through watersheds, and creating natural corridors for animal movement.

The combination of all of these characteristics makes coastal temperate rain forests among the most productive of all ecosystems on Earth–they accumulate as much as 500-2,000 metric tonnes of organic matter per hectare, compared to a hundred tonnes or so in tropical rainforests. Trees grow to enormous size and unusual age. In both the northern and southern hemispheres, cedars in coastal temperate rain forests can grow over six metres in diameter and reach over 2,000 years of age. The tallest Sitka spruce on record is over 95 metres, located in BC’s Carmanah valley. Due to slow rates of decomposition, organic debris (fallen trees, branches, etc) can persist at ground level for centuries, carpeted by diverse ferns, mosses, lichens and liverworts. Trees are shallow-rooted, due to an abundance of nutrients at the soil surface. Many regenerate on fallen “nurse logs” that eventually decompose beneath their roots, leaving stilt-borne mature trees susceptible to wind-throw, thereby reinforcing the dynamics of structural diversity.

One of the most distinctive features of coastal temperate rain forests is the linkage of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Moisture, evaporated over the oceans, reaches coastal forests as fog or rainfall, contributing trace elements and other nutrients to the biogeochemical processes associated with forest growth. As water cycles through a watershed, it leaches minerals from the soil, distributes nutrients and carries decaying biomass to estuaries and near-shore marine ecosystems. In fact, the coastal temperate rain forest is not exclusively a terrestrial ecosystem at all, but reaches out beyond the continental margins to influence life in the sea. The relationship is reciprocal–affecting the productivity of both ecosystems–as symbolized for many people by the Pacific salmon returning to the streams of coastal temperate rain forests to spawn. Clear, fresh waters flowing over silt-free gravel beds create the conditions that salmonids require for laying and incubating their eggs. Moss-laden watersheds act as a sponge, absorbing and filtering heavy rainfall before releasing it slowly into stream channels. Trees that fall across stream beds moderate the flow of water and provide juvenile fish with cover from predators. They also create habitat for aquatic vegetation and insects, and thus forage for the young of those salmonids that spend their first year in fresh water. The returning adults are an important food source for humankind, other mammals and scavenging birds; and when spawning is completed, their carcasses are absorbed into stream and estuary nutrient regimes.

This reciprocal relationship is also evident in the large numbers of seabirds that return for a month or so each year to nest in coastal temperate rain forests. The elusive marbled murrelet, a threatened species, is thought to nest primarily on moss platforms that grow on the branches of large old growth trees in the upper canopy. The alcids, or burrow nesters, come in from the open ocean to lay and incubate their eggs in sizeable colonies in excavations along the shores and among the roots of old growth coastal forests. Usually, one of the adult seabird pair spends the day at sea, returning at dusk and depositing a nitrate- and phosphate-rich load of excrement at the entrance to the nest. Washed into the soil by winter’s rains, the feces of seabird colonies that number thousands of nesting pairs make a significant contribution to the nutrient budget of the forest.

 

The narrow maritime fringe where coastal temperate rain forests occur has not been previously described at a global level, and many of the regions that sustain them are poorly documented. Alaback and Weigand’s preliminary survey describes the probable original global distribution of the coastal temperate rain forest zone, according to climate and topography. Global occurrences are illustrated on the map located in the pocket on the inside back cover of this publication; a second map provides more detailed illustration of its distribution on the west coast of North America.

North America’s northwestern continental margin has by far the largest remaining contiguous coastal temperate rain forest on Earth, ranging from Kodiak Island in Alaska south through British Columbia and Washington to Oregon’s Siuslaw River. Elsewhere in the northern hemisphere, Japan and southern Norway contain some natural forests that fit the definition. Unlogged coastal temperate rain forests were formerly found in Iceland, the west coasts of Ireland and Scotland, and a narrow crescent along the Black Sea in Turkey and Soviet Georgia. In the southern hemisphere, the largest remaining coastal temperate rain forest is in Chile, located from Arauco south into Magallanes Province. In New Zealand, a significant area is found on the west coast of South Island. The Australian island of Tasmania has a large zone of broad-leaved coastal temperate rain forest, which harbours the most ancient elements of Australia’s flora.

On a global scale, coastal temperate rain forests are relatively rare. The temperate forest biome in general covers some 1.3 billion hectares, or nine percent of the earth’s land area. But only 31 million hectares of this is classifiable as coastal temperate rain forest, which amounts to 2.4 percent of the temperate forest, and 0.2 percent of the planet’s land area. By comparison, tropical rain forests originally encompassed slightly more than two billion hectares, or 14 percent of the earth’s land area–of which by most accounts one-half has been destroyed.

What remains of unlogged, natural coastal temperate rain forests has yet to be calculated, but it is obviously diminished from its original range–probably by one-half as well. In North America, clearcut logging of old growth softwoods in the coastal zone is widespread. In Chile and New Zealand, much of the drier native forest has been converted into monocultural conifer plantations, while logging pressure continues on the remaining natural forests. In Great Britain, particularly in the Scottish Highlands, once extensive coastal temperate rain forests have been converted to overgrazed heaths and plantations of Sitka spruce (with seeds imported from North America). The ecology of remnant natural forests has also been affected by factors other than logging. For example, in New Zealand and in the Queen Charlotte Islands alike, deer and elk populations introduced around the beginning of the century have grown unchecked by natural predators. Their browsing has modified understory vegetation and forest regeneration patterns.

The original coastal temperate rain forests   of North America covered more than 14 million hectares, or 45 percent of the zone worldwide. Currently, North America probably contains more than one-half of the global remnants of these       undeveloped forests, which include the most diverse conifer-dominated coastal forests. In southeast Alaska, western hemlock-Sitka spruce forests cover some 5.5 million hectares, about 40 percent of which are protected. Yet because these are at the northern limit for the forest type, they are neither as productive nor as diverse as those to the south. At their southern limit in the northwest US, the coastal temperate rain forests have been subjected to more than a century of commercial logging, especially in the most productive forests at lower elevations. While national and state parks protect some natural forests, only one intact coastal watershed larger than 10,000 hectares remains unlogged in the lower 48 states–the Cummins Creek/Rock Creek/10 Mile Creek complex in Oregon’s Siuslaw National Forest.

By a process of elimination then, British Columbia occupies a position of central, indeed global importance. Here the coastal temperate forest zone blankets 6.5 million hectares over the full length of the coastline. It contains a wide variety of local forest types within the Coastal Western Hemlock and Coastal Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zones. And in marked contrast to the US, significant opportunities still remain to protect large, unlogged and highly productive coastal watersheds. In “An Inventory of Watersheds in the Coastal Temperate Forests of BC,” author Keith Moore identifies 72 watersheds over 5,000 hectares in size that are pristine, and a further 46 that are hardly affected by industrial development. Twenty of these are greater than 20,000 hectares; and one, the Kitlope (275,000 ha), appears to be the largest undeveloped coastal temperate watershed in the world. While the biota and productivity values in these watersheds are unique and in some cases exceptional, their ecosystem characteristics are nonetheless similar to the coastal forests of Chile, southern Norway, and Tasmania. These represent an important conservation opportunity–not just for BC and Canada, but for the world as a whole.

 

Coastal temperate rain forests cannot be understood or properly managed simply by attending to tree and animal species of commercial importance. In order to balance society’s economic imperatives with nature’s ecological realities, an ecosystem management approach is clearly required.

This approach would include a comprehensive account of the values that an ecosystem contains, and of the natural and human forces that interact within it. It would address the terrestrial-marine linkages of coastal temperate rain forests as a matter of course. While the ecological rationale for doing so is obvious, there are persuasive economic reasons as well. Both the fishing and the logging industries are crucial to local economies in this ecosystem. Yet their ecological and economic interdependence–including the degree to which logging affects fishery productivity–has not received the depth of analysis it deserves.

Similarly, the tourism and recreation industry sectors depend to a large extent upon intact forests as destinations, yet the opportunity costs of logging in coastal temperate rain forests remain undetermined. The same is true of the “downstream” costs to community water supplies, flood control and other watershed values. Industrial impacts, often written off as unquantifiable and unavoidable costs of doing business, need to be considered as ecological disturbances and gauged against the ecosystem’s natural disturbance regime. Only in this context can tolerance levels be set for cumulative impacts on the ecosystem, and conservation requirements designed to avoid crossing those ecological thresholds beyond which critical environmental values will probably be sacrificed. If our pledge to future generations to sustain biological diversity and ecological productivity is sincere–and if we are going to deliver on it with some sense of assurance–then such measures must be established and enforced. These then are the ecological limits that our industrial pursuits cannot be allowed to exceed.

To implement this ecosystem management approach, scientists will require suitable conditions for research and analysis. In the case of the coastal temperate rain forest–an ecosystem governed by hydrology and climate–the factors that shape water’s abundance and flow patterns are crucial to understanding the forest itself. So one of the most appropriate contexts in which to investigate ecological processes is the watershed. A contiguous drainage basin is a physiographically distinct unit–hydrologically separated and defined by the height of land along its perimeter.

The ideal scientific baseline is an area in which natural processes are not measurably affected by human impacts. Existing studies show that even small, patchy clearcuts within a watershed can have marked impacts on bird species diversity, drainage patterns, slope stability, windthrow disturbance, and even soil microbial diversity. Thus, watersheds that are not reserved as intact, natural units may fail to provide reliable baseline information for an ecosystem approach to natural resource management. They may also fail to protect genetic diversity values. Watersheds have been shown to be pertinent to genetic diversity in various species with ecosystem-level importance. Salmon and stickleback show measurable chromosomal variation between watersheds in coastal North America. Researchers have also found evidence that endemism in aquatic insects in coastal temperate rain forests is likewise attributable to different drainages.

So watersheds as analytical boundaries bring topographic, hydrological, and often biological clarity to ecosystem analysis. By comparison, many land use administration boundaries are ecologically incoherent, and can hamper efforts to foster ecological awareness, let alone to manage cumulative development impacts. What is called for then, is a program of long- and short-term research and monitoring–with intact, natural watersheds providing the scientific benchmarks against which changes in ecosystems managed    for timber production or other development can be compared.

Another significant reason for reserving large, intact watersheds comes from the science of conservation biology. As described in the theory of island biogeography, there is a direct relationship between the size of a protected area and the number of native species it can sustain. Other factors being equal, a single large reserve will sustain more species more effectively than will a number of small reserves of the same total area. Experience in ecosystems around the planet has made it clear that, if a system of protected areas is expected to sustain native species over time–especially carnivores–then it must include large, contiguous areas connected by migration corridors. In the coastal temperate rain forest, entire watersheds containing a full continuum of ecological zones, from alpine to intertidal, may provide the most appropriate boundaries for suitably large reserves.

In addition to these biological reasons, there are social arguments in support of setting aside intact watersheds. Public perceptions and demands have taken a central role in land use planning, and wild places have become an important social amenity in an industrialized world. People value them and want to protect them, not just for the opportunity to experience them, but also for their own intrinsic values. And because we have now acknowledged the needs of future generations, the sustainability imperative has entered the equation, necessitating some level of assurance that reserves will function as wild systems into the future. In this respect, intact watersheds offer a conceptual clarity and ecological integrity that is impossible with systems of small, disconnected reserves of fractured remnants of natural communities.

Ultimately, reconciling conservation needs   and commodity uses in the coastal watersheds of British Columbia will depend on political choices informed by a deeper understanding of the marine and terrestrial ecosystems found in these forests at land’s end. Along with Keith Moore’s watersheds inventory, the ecological approach to the management of coastal temperate rain forests proposed here represents a modest step toward such an understanding.

In the opinion of Conservation International, which operates in some 20 countries globally, British Columbia retains a number of significant options to adopt innovative management strategies that balance economic development with conservation requirements. In striving to achieve that goal, the province may well serve as a model for effective conservation measures elsewhere on this troubled planet. Ecotrust and CI are pleased to have had the opportunity to support the inventory, and to make this contribution to the initiation of the BC Endangered Spaces Project.

 

Spencer B. Beebe is the founder and President of Ecotrust, an affiliate of Conservation International, located in Portland, Oregon. Edward C. Wolf is a biologist and writer with Conservation International’s Communications Program, in Washington, DC. The authors would like to acknowledge the editorial assistance of John Broadhead and Ken Margolis.

 

page 39

APPENDICES

Appendix 1

Watersheds in Coastal BC

(larger than 5,000 ha)

Fraser Lower Mainland (FLM)        41

South Coast (SC)  42

East Vancouver Island (EVI)          43

West Vancouver Island (WVI)         44

Mid Coast (MC)   46

North Coast (NC) 48

Queen Charlotte Islands (QCI)        51

Appendix 2 Protected Watersheds in Coastal BC 52

(larger than 5,000 ha)

Appendix 3 Partially Protected Watersheds in Coastal BC  53

(larger than 5,000 ha)

Appendix 4 Smaller Protected Watersheds in Coastal BC   54

(1,000-5,000 ha)

Information is current to December 1990.

NOTE: APPENDICES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE AS DBF AND MS EXCEL SPREADSHEET FILES

APPENDIX 1

FRASER LOWER MAINLAND

• ·········································································································

Campbell         900-0005            FLM     FRL      21,400   dev       no

Capilano          900-0704            FLM     SPR      20,125   dev       no

Chapman         900-1198            FLM     FRL      6,937     dev       no

Chilliwack        100-0655            FLM     SPR      162,800  dev       no

Coquihalla       100-1152            FLM     EPR      72,375   dev       no

Coquitlam       100-0245            FLM     SPR      25,750   dev       no

Emory 100-1253            FLM     EPR      6,375     dev       no

Furry  900-0848            FLM     SPR      5,312     dev       no

Gray   900-1678            FLM     FRL      5,750     dev       no

Harrison         110-0000            FLM     EPR      786,750  dev       part       76,000   Portions of Snowcap, Tuwasus, Billygoat, Kakila and Ure watersheds (all tributaries of Lillooet R) protected in Garibaldi PP, but lower reaches outside the park are logged. About 23% of the protected area is coastal temperate forest (CWH).

Indian 900-0561            FLM     SPR      18,750   dev       no

Lynn  900-0667            FLM     SPR      5,125     dev       no

McNab           900-1056            FLM     SPR      6,750     dev       no

McNair            900-1090            FLM     SPR      5,750     dev       no

Nickomeckl     900-0043            FLM     FRL      17,500   dev       no

Norrish           100-0638            FLM     SPR      12,375   dev       no

Pitt    100-0266            FLM     SPR      168,437  dev       part       41,000   The upper Pitt watershed above Pitt L is protected in Garibaldi PP. About 50% of the protected area is coastal temperate forest (CWH).

Rainy  900-1084            FLM     SPR      6,687     dev       no

Ruby  900-1466            FLM     FRL      7,062     dev       no

Ruby  100-1045            FLM     SPR      8,062     dev       no

Sechelt            900-1767            FLM     SPR      8,625     dev       no

Serpentine       900-0055            FLM     FRL      11,000   dev       no

Seymour          900-0659            FLM     SPR      18,000   dev       no

Silverhope       100-1127            FLM     SPR      32,582   dev       no

Siwash 100-1332            FLM     EPR      7,375     dev       no

Spuzzum         100-1411            FLM     EPR      22,312   dev       no

Squamish         900-0969            FLM     EPR      420,700  dev       no                     An ER on Baynes Island in the Squamish R is 71 ha.

Stave  100-0469            FLM     SPR      101,813  dev       part       32,500   The upper Stave and Tingle Cr (tributary to Stave L) are protected in Judge Howay RA and Golden Ears and Garibaldi PP’s. Part of the protected area was logged in the past. About 12% of the protected area is coastal temperate forest (CWH).

Stawamus        900-0903            FLM     SPR      5,250     dev       no

Wahleach        100-1016            FLM     SPR      12,375   dev       no

SOUTH COAST

• ·········································································································

Ahnuhati         900-6027            SC        NPR     19,125   mod      no                     About 250 ha logged 1979-83 on both sides of creek, mostly on E side.

Ahta   900-6401            SC        NPR     6,750     mod      no                     50 ha old logging in watershed around estuary. MB 5-Year Plan shows logging in 1993.

Apple 900-4692            SC        NPR     19,625   dev       no

Bear   900-4108            SC        NPR     29,500   dev       no

Brem  900-3574            SC        NPR     22,437   dev       no

Brittain           900-2440            SC        SPR      13,062   dev       no

Charles           900-6856            SC        NPR     8,249     dev       no

Clowholm       900-1782            SC        SPR      38,000   dev       no

Deserted         900-2200            SC        SPR      13,187   dev       no

Forbes            900-3319            SC        NPR     5,375     dev       no

Franklin          900-5892            SC        NPR     54,125   dev       no

Fulmore          900-5207            SC        OUF     9,687     dev       no

Gilford           905-5575-782      SC        OUF     6,200     dev       no

Heydon           900-4772            SC        OUF     5,875     dev       no

Homathko       900-4065            SC        NPR     563,062  dev       no

Homfray         900-3340            SC        NPR     5,437     dev       no

Huaskin L       900-7502            SC        OUF     11,062   dev       no

Kakweiken       900-6319            SC        NPR     30,999   dev       no

Kingcome        900-6813            SC        NPR     131,687  dev       no

Kliniklini         900-5923            SC        NPR     564,374  dev       no

Kwalate          900-6086            SC        NPR     7,750     mod      no                     40 ha logged on lower river in 1930s, extending 300 m upstream. Road building planned for 1991.

Lang   900-2775            SC        FRL      12,875   dev       no

Lois   900-2764            SC        SPR      45,937   dev       no

Loose L          905-5575-887      SC        OUF     7,188     dev       no

Main L            905-2910-769      SC        SOG     7,062     dev       no

Matsiu 900-6138            SC        NPR     6,437     mod      no                     2 km road built for marble quarry 1987-88. No logging except road right of way.

Mellersh          900-4134            SC        NPR     5,187     dev       no

Misery 900-1804            SC        SPR      6,187     dev       no

Moh   900-4245            SC        NPR     11,062   dev       no

Orford            900-3910            SC        NPR     43,312   dev       no

Paradise          900-4215            SC        NPR     9,375     pris       no

Phillips           900-4473            SC        NPR     46,375   dev       no

Powell 900-2843            SC        SPR      144,999  dev       no

Quatam           900-3684            SC        NPR     16,000   dev       no

Rainbow         900-8780            SC        NPR     5,250     dev       no

Read   900-5008            SC        OUF     6,312     dev       no

Seymour          900-8753            SC        NPR     42,250   dev       no

Sim    900-5957            SC        NPR     30,562   dev       no

Skwawka         900-2324            SC        SPR      34,567   dev       no

Sliamon           900-2854            SC        FRL      5,250     dev       no

Southgate        900-4037            SC        NPR     200,687  dev       no

Stafford          900-4708            SC        NPR     37,062   dev       no

Stakawus         900-2190            SC        SPR      7,999     dev       no

Taaltz 900-8656            SC        NPR     6,062     dev       no

Tahumming     900-3502            SC        NPR     25,625   dev       no

Teaquahan       900-4061            SC        NPR     30,062   dev       no

Theodosia       900-3088            SC        EPR      14,437   dev       no

Toba  900-3488            SC        NPR     181,187  dev       no

Tom Browne    900-5695            SC        OUF     12,562   dev       no

Tzoonie          900-1944            SC        SPR      17,750   dev       no

Vancouver       900-2095            SC        SPR      15,437   dev       no

Wahkash         900-5861            SC        NPR     15,374   dev       no

Wakeman        900-6926            SC        NPR     78,437   dev       no

Waump           900-9479            SC        NPR     10,812   mod      no                     Total of 216 ha logged 1947 and 1979-87.

 

 

EAST VANCOUVER ISLAND

• ·······································································································

Adam 920-7580            EVI      NIM     68,791   dev       no

Amor de Cosmos          920-7007            EVI      LIM      14,951   dev       no

Black  920-5951            EVI      NAL     7,165     dev       no

Campbell         920-6279            EVI      LIM      169,816  dev       part       100,000  Several entire tributary watersheds of Buttle L (Wolf, Phillips and Ralph) are protected in Strathcona PP; all >5,000 ha and unlogged. Cervus Cr (tributary to the Elk R flowing into upper Campbell L) is also in Strathcona PP. The protected area includes an active mine and extensive past logging.

Chemanius       920-3035            EVI      LIM      35,500   dev       no

Cluxewe          920-8515            EVI      NIM     9,984     dev       no

Courtenay        920-5532            EVI      NAL     86,170   dev       no         3,000     The upper Puntledge is protected in Strathcona PP. Part of the area within the park has been logged. Protected area is 3.5% of total watershed area.

Cowichan        920-2577            EVI      LIM      124,496  dev       no

Englishman      920-4628            EVI      LIM      32,397   dev       no

Keogh 920-8669            EVI      NWL     12,685   dev       no

Kokish            920-8109            EVI      NIM     36,902   dev       no

Little Qualicum 920-4818            EVI      LIM      23,660   dev       no

Millstone         920-3954            EVI      LIM      9,854     dev       no

Mohun           920-6431            EVI      LIM      13,124   dev       no

Nahwitti          920-9537            EVI      NWL     22,503   dev       no

Naka  920-7695            EVI      NIM     5,372     dev       no

Nanaimo         920-3844            EVI      LIM      84,100   dev       no

Nimpkish        920-8259            EVI      NIM     176,000  dev       no

Oyster 920-6004            EVI      LIM      37,927   dev       no

Pye    920-6863            EVI      LIM      8,798     dev       no

Qualicum        920-4907            EVI      LIM      15,073   dev       no

Quatse            920-8962            EVI      NWL     8,045     dev       no

Salmon           920-7253            EVI      LIM      133,382  dev       no         9,250     The upper Salmon is protected in Strathcona PP. The area within the park has not been logged. Protected area is 7% of the total watershed area.

Shushartie        920-9404            EVI      NWL     7,300     mod      no                     24 ha logged in upper watershed in 1988 and 1989.

Songhees         920-9146            EVI      NWL     8,510     dev       no

Stranby           920-9695            EVI      NWL     15,579   dev       no

Trent  920-5458            EVI      NAL     6,439     dev       no

Tsable 920-5276            EVI      NAL     10,274   dev       no

Tsitika 920-7821            EVI      NIM     32,500   dev       no         2,000     Parts of the Tsitika and tributaries are protected in six separate ER’s covering 6% of the total watershed area. A 1990 report states that the Tsitika is 39,500 ha, 5.1% is protected, 5.5% is deferred for wildlife habitat, and 8.8% is logged.

Tsulgate          920-9005            EVI      NWL     5,975     dev       no

 

 

WEST VANCOUVER ISLAND

• ········································································································

Artlish 930-6711            WVI      WIM     12,506   dev       no

Bedwell           930-3553            WVI      WIM     21,050   dev       part       10,700   The upper Bedwell is in Strathcona PP. Most of the lower slopes on both sides of the watershed within the park have been logged.

Bulson            930-3456            WVI      WIM     7,287     dev       no                     Total of 160 ha logged in two cutblocks in lower watershed is 2.2% of watershed area.

Burman           930-5074            WVI      WIM     24,299   dev       part       19,375   The upper Burman is within Strathcona PP. Logging extends up to the park boundary but not beyond.

Carmanah        930-0658            WVI      WIM     6,616     dev       part       3,500     164 ha logged in upper watershed in 1986 is 2.4% of watershed area. Roads enter lower watershed at three locations. The lower half of the watershed now in a PP Reserve is contiguous with protected area in Pacific Rim NPR.

Cayeghle         930-8471            WVI      WIM     8,920     dev       no

China 930-1323            WVI      LIM      11,369   dev       no

Coleman         930-1242            WVI      WIM     8,932     dev       no

Conuma          930-5385            WVI      WIM     12,378   dev       no

Corrigan          930-1294            WVI      LIM      13,643   dev       no

Cous  930-1430            WVI      LIM      7,668     dev       no

Cypre 930-3685            WVI      WIM     5,803     dev       no

East   930-7824            WVI      WIM     5,033     pris       no

Effingham       930-1964            WVI      WIM     6,037     dev       no

Escalante         930-4808            WVI      WIM     8,004     dev       no

Fisherman       930-9920            WVI      NWL     8,380     dev       part       1,125     The lower watershed is in Cape Scott PP. About 450 ha in upper watershed are logged.

Gold  930-5116            WVI      NIM     102,812  dev       part       20,700   Parts of the Upper Gold watershed are protected in Strathcona PP. The watershed around Gold L is protected but part of this area has been logged. The upper Ucona, a tributary of the Gold, is  protected and the entire watershed above Donner L is unlogged. Part of an adjacent tributary watershed is protected.

Goodspeed      930-8948            WVI      NWL     9,801     dev       no

Gordon           930-0547            WVI      WIM     29,821   dev       no

Henderson L    930-1625            WVI      WIM     14,245   dev       no

Hesquiat L       930-4614            WVI      WIM     6,207     dev       no

Jordan 930-0373            WVI      LIM      16,042   dev       no

Kaouk 930-6657            WVI      WIM     11,567   dev       no

Keith  930-8054            WVI      WIM     6,015     dev       no

Kennedy         930-3064            WVI      WIM     53,575   dev       no

Klanawa          930-0755            WVI      WIM     24,264   dev       no

Klaskish          930-7841            WVI      WIM     5,189     mod      no                     No logging in watershed. 5.6 km of road built in early 1970s and small logging camp on estuary. Two km of road built in summer of 1990 along north side of lower watershed. A 132 ha Ecological Reserve was established in 1990 on the estuary and a small part of the lower river.

Kleeptee          930-5210            WVI      WIM     5,312     dev       no

Klootchlimmis  930-8320            WVI      WIM     7,800     dev       no

Koprino          930-9259            WVI      NWL     5,898     dev       no

Leiner 930-5676            WVI      WIM     10,417   dev       no

Loss   930-0443            WVI      WIM     7,421     dev       no

Macjack          930-9707            WVI      NWL     12,083   dev       no

Maggie            930-2338            WVI      WIM     6,016     dev       no

Mahatta           930-8239            WVI      WIM     11,945   dev       no

Marble            930-8652            WVI      NWL     52,602   dev       no

McCurdy         930-5145            WVI      WIM     7,009     dev       no

Megin 930-4135            WVI      WIM     24,299   pris       part       3,000     Some logging on small IR at mouth of stream. Less than 5 ha logged in watershed. The upper Mitla and upper reaches of two other tributaries of the Megin are in Strathcona PP and are unlogged. There is a 50 ha ER in the lower watershed. About 50% of the protected area is coastal temperate forest (CWH); remainder is subalpine forest (MH) and mountain peaks (AT).

Moyeha           930-3918            WVI      WIM     18,220   pris       park      18,220   Entire watershed is within Strathcona PP.

Muir   930-0303            WVI      LIM      6,515     dev       no

Nahmint         930-1508            WVI      WIM     19,059   dev       no

Nasparti          930-7470            WVI      WIM     6,020     pris       no

Nitnat 930-0717            WVI      WIM     71,340   dev       no

Power 930-7323            WVI      WIM     5,488     mod      no                     50 ha logged upstream of Power L in 1940s; 28 ha logged on W side of river in early 1960s.

San Josef         930-9794            WVI      NWL     10,575   dev       no

San Juan          930-0538            WVI      WIM     67,880   dev       no

Sarita  930-1108            WVI      WIM     19,195   dev       no

Somass           930-1374            WVI      LIM      128,400  dev       no

Sooke 930-0221            WVI      LIM      34,088   dev       no

Sydney            930-4338            WVI      WIM     5,885     pris       no

Tahsis 930-5691            WVI      WIM     7,769     dev       no

Tahsish           930-6733            WVI      WIM     27,213   dev       no                     Tributary watersheds, the Kwois and Silburn, and the lower Tahsish are pristine. 70 ha in the estuary and the lower are protected in an ER. An additional ER is proposed.

Tlupana          930-5342            WVI      WIM     10,700   dev       no

Tofino            930-3160            WVI      WIM     5,602     dev       no

Toquart           930-2305            WVI      WIM     10,251   dev       no

Tranquil          930-3245            WVI      WIM     5,989     dev       no

Walbran          930-0632            WVI      WIM     12,986   dev       no

Wanakana        930-8842            WVI      NWL     5,131     dev       no

Waukwaas       930-8711            WVI      NWL     14,218   dev       no

Zeballos          930-5822            WVI      WIM     18,018   dev       no

 

 

MID COAST

• ·····································································································

Allard 910-1107            MC       HEL     7,437     pris       no

Asseek            910-2737            MC       NPR     5,500     dev       no

Bella Coola      910-2907            MC       NPR     294,861  dev       part       159,500  The northside of the Talchako and its tributaries are protected in Tweedsmuir PP; but only 7% is coastal temperate forest (CWH). Most of the balance is mountain and interior forest types.

Carter 910-5246            MC       KIR      11,656   pris       no

Chicchic L       915-0930-287      MC       HEL     6,562     pris       no                     Hakai RA includes small area at mouth of stream.

Clayton Falls    910-2896            MC       NPR     9,312     dev       no

Clyak  910-1412            MC       NPR     23,620   dev       no

Dean  910-3187            MC       KIR      782,999  dev       part       307,500  The Middle Dean and tributaries are protected in Tweedsmuir PP. Only 3% is coastal temperate forest (CWH); and most of the balance is mountain and interior forest types.

Doc   910-2263            MC       HEL     11,875   dev       no

Elizabeth L      910-1937            MC       HEL     6,687     pris       no

Ellerslie           910-4330            MC       KIR      18,275   pris       no                     Some logging on bay but none in watershed.

Farquar           915-2265-558      MC       KIR      6,812     dev       no

Four Lakes      915-2265-409      MC       HEL     6,250     pris       no

Hotsprings       910-2647            MC       NPR     11,437   pris       no

Humpback       910-3162            MC       KIR      5,250     mod      no                     68 ha logged on both sides of stream in 1958.

Ickna  910-2720            MC       NPR     14,625   mod      no                     75 ha on both sides of mouth logged in 1957.

Ingram-Mooto  910-4398            MC       KIR      9,844     pris       no

Johnson          910-1189            MC       HEL     6,750     mod      no                     One very small old block north side of creek; forest cover map shows old road.

Jump Across    910-3134            MC       KIR      19,437   mod      no                     50 ha logged on lower north side in 1960.

Kainet 910-5000            MC       KIR      7,844     pris       RA

Kilbella           910-1309            MC       NPR     72,427   dev       no

Kimsquit         910-3224            MC       KIR      103,375  dev       no

Koeye 910-2122            MC       HEL     18,625   mod      no                     90 ha current logging and about 4-5 km of road approved in Upper Koeye.  About 100 ha in lower river selectively logged in 1920s. Limestone quarry on Lower Koeye 1952-76; cabins and equipment remain. 30 ha logged on private land in Koeye Bay in 1980s are not in watershed.

Kwakwa          915-4820-599      MC       HEL     7,065     pris       no

Kwatna           910-2465            MC       NPR     39,437   dev       no

Lard   910-4989            MC       KIR      5,312     mod      RA                    75 ha logged in 1950s on both sides at mouth.

Link-Braden     910-3728            MC       KIR      31,937   dev       no

Lockhart Gordon          910-1074            MC       NPR     11,812   pris       no                     About 200 m of old road shown on forest cover maps but no logging history recorded. The watershed is considered pristine because area affected is less than 5 ha.

Milton 910-1460            MC       NPR     6,562     dev       no

Mussel            910-5142            MC       KIR      16,748   mod      RA                    72 ha logged on lower south side in 1950s.

Nascall            910-3394            MC       KIR      38,750   mod      no                     Private land at mouth logged in 1988, but most is on bay, not in watershed.

Necleetsconnay 910-2916            MC       KIR      28,125   dev       no

Nekite 910-0417            MC       NPR     40,437   dev       no

Nieumiamus     910-2931            MC       KIR      5,687     dev       no

Noeick            910-2764            MC       NPR     49,875   dev       no

Nooseseck       910-2962            MC       KIR      13,375   dev       no

Nootum          910-2259            MC       HEL     9,750     dev       no

Nusach           910-3109            MC       KIR      9,125     pris       no

Poison Cove    910-5134            MC       KIR      10,625   pris       RA

Quatlena         910-2403            MC       NPR     14,250   dev       no

Sandell            910-1213            MC       HEL     12,562   pris       no

Skowquiltz       910-3340            MC       KIR      28,875   pris       no                     Some logging on bay but none in watershed.

Smokehouse     910-0256            MC       NPR     38,750   mod      no                     Long Lake was A-frame logged in 1962-66. Smokehouse watershed above lake is unlogged.

Sutslem           910-3291            MC       KIR      23,125   mod      no                     About 25 ha logged on north side in 1967.

Swallop           910-3138            MC       KIR      17,375   pris       no

Takush           910-0124            MC       HEL     8,250     pris       no                     Some old logging on shoreline close to watershed but no logging within watershed.

Taleomy          910-2759            MC       NPR     51,999   dev       no

Unnamed        910-2632            MC       NPR     6,652     pris       no                     South of Menzies Point in South Bentick Arm.

Unnamed        910-3080            MC       KIR      7,625     pris       no                     East of White Cliff Point in Dean Channel.

Wannock         910-1288            MC       NPR     446,961  dev       no

 

 

NORTH COAST

• ·········································································································

Aaltanhash       910-5506            NC       KIR      11,406   mod      no                     Old logging in 1968 to west. Head Cr and Dome L have old logging trail on south side.

Alder  400-0828            NC       KIR      8,625     mod      no                     One 10 ha cut block logged in 1978. Road building planned in watershed in next five years.

Anudol           500-1087            NC       KIR      10,750   dev       no

Anyox 910-9487            NC       KIR      11,937   dev       no                     Road to dam. Trees killed by smelter. Unlogged.

Archie L          915-4883-349      NC       HEL     8,812     pris       no

Ayton 400-0455            NC       KIR      5,687     pris       no

Banks L          915-5600-375      NC       HEL     10,062   pris       no

Barrie 910-6023            NC       KIR      11,250   pris       no

Big Falls          400-0165-242      NC       KIR      26,500   dev       no

Bish   910-6777            NC       KIR      12,937   mod      no                     Approximately  30 ha logged in 1960s.

Brim  910-6324            NC       KIR      15,810   pris       no

Brown L         400-0165-157      NC       KIR      6,312     mod      no                     Lot 121 is logged and cleared for future power development. No logging.

Burton            500-0185            NC       KIR      8,375     pris       no

Butedale          915-4883-818      NC       HEL     5,312     mod      no                     Fish cannery at mouth, abandoned 1960s. Unlogged above Butedale L.

Canoona         915-4883-842      NC       HEL     12,375   mod      no                     Road to lake for fish ladder.

Chambers        500-0090            NC       KIR      8,687     pris       no

Crab   910-6447            NC       KIR      13,750   dev       no

Dala   910-6612            NC       KIR      42,562   dev       no

Dasque           400-1522            NC       KIR      15,562   dev       no

Deer L            915-4883-499      NC       HEL     13,937   dev       no

Donahue         910-9850            NC       KIR      7,125     mod      no                     About 35 ha logged in 1970s at river mouth.

Ecstall 400-0165-000      NC       KIR      83,874   pris       no

Enshesheshe    910-8631            NC       KIR      6,652     dev       no

Europa           910-5955            NC       KIR      10,375   mod      no                     32 ha logged in 1986-89 on both sides lower river.

Exchamsics      410-0000            NC       KIR      50,250   mod      no                     One small block logged upstream of small park on East side; most not in watershed. Highway and railway cross lower watershed.

Exstew           400-1374            NC       KIR      44,562   dev       no

Falls   910-6592            NC       KIR      21,125   dev       no                     About 200 ha old logging in 1940s. Currently 10 km of  active road construction.

Foch  910-7054            NC       KIR      6,062     pris       no

Foch Lagoon    910-7042            NC       KIR      11,687   pris       no                     Logging in side drainage near mouth, but no logging in watershed.

Freda L           910-7489            NC       HEL     6,687     pris       no

Georgetown     910-8233            NC       HEL     6,062     dev       no

Georgie           910-9918            NC       KIR      15,312   mod      no                     IR at mouth logged; rest of watershed is unlogged.

Gilttoyees        910-6954            NC       KIR      26,188   pris       no

Gitnadoix        400-1134            NC       KIR      56,812   mod      RA                    Approximately 40 ha logged on Skeena flats. Powerline on islands in Skeena.

Goat  910-5657            NC       KIR      5,687     mod      no                     35 ha logged 40 years ago at mouth.

Green Inlet      910-5330            NC       KIR      18,642   pris       no

Hayward         400-0165-141      NC       KIR      5,375     dev       no

Hugh  910-6504            NC       KIR      6,000     pris       no

Iknouk            500-0300            NC       KIR      10,750   mod      no                     Logging on  lR at mouth; and approximately 27 ha logged upstream of lR. Logging planned in 1991.

Illiance            910-9298            NC       KIR      12,750   dev       no                     Highway to Kitsault.

Ishkheenickh    510-0000            NC       KIR      56,562   dev       no

Jesse   910-6825            NC       KIR      15,750   mod      no                     Approximately 8 ha old logging at mouth in 1940s. No roads. Fire on E side at mouth of creek.

Johnson          500-0107            NC       KIR      5,437     pris       no

Kasiks 400-0932            NC       KIR      25,750   dev       no                     Approximately 600 ha logged near mouth, but most not in watershed. Gas pipeline and right-of-way in watershed. Highway and railway cross mouth.

Keecha L         915-5600-804      NC       HEL     5,625     pris       no

Keeyarka Cove 915-5600-629      NC       HEL     5,000     pris       no

Kelskiist          910-9218            NC       KIR      6,250     pris       no

Kemano          910-6274            NC       KIR      99,750   dev       no

Khtada           400-0593            NC       KIR      15,768   mod      no                     Powerline crosses at mouth, but watershed is unroaded and unlogged.

Khutze           910-5451            NC       KIR      27,468   mod      no                     Railway and active mine in 1930. Unlogged except in association with mine.

Khutzeymateen 910-8875            NC       KIR      35,344   mod      no                     20 ha logged in 1950, upstream of estuary. Proposed as an ER.

Khyex 400-0361            NC       KIR      42,562   mod      no                     Approximately 100 ha logged. Highway and railway cross lower watershed.

Kildala            910-6598            NC       KIR      34,937   dev       no

Kiltuish           910-5933            NC       KIR      31,200   pris       no                     Logging on inlet, but none in watershed.

Kincolith         500-0025            NC       KIR      21,375   dev       no

Kitimat           910-6735            NC       KIR      205,999  dev       no

Kitkiata           910-7133            NC       KIR      7,562     dev       no

Kitlope           910-6176            NC       KIR      275,061  mod      no                     About 30 ha of IR logged on island in river.

Kitsault           910-9302            NC       KIR      44,437   dev       no

Kitsumkalum   430-0000            NC       NAR     426,874  dev       no

Kleanza           400-2318            NC       NAR     20,250   dev       no

Klekane          910-5567            NC       KIR      9,500     pris       no

Kloiya 910-7919            NC       HEL     10,500   dev       no

Kowesas         910-6083            NC       KIR      33,250   pris       no

Ksedin            500-2540            NC       KIR      28,624   dev       no

Kshwan          910-9418            NC       KIR      26,687   pris       no

Kumealon       910-7689            NC       HEL     5,187     mod      no                     72 ha logged in 1950s along lower river.

Kwinemass      910-8966            NC       KIR      32,000   dev       no

Lakelse           420-0000            NC       KIR      57,812   dev       no

Lowe-Gamble  910-7401            NC       HEL     24,656   pris       no

Madeline         400-0165-220      NC       KIR      6,312     mod      no                     Approximately  50 ha logged at mouth in 1960s.

Olh    910-9395            NC       KIR      10,187   pris       no

Owycumish      910-6325            NC       KIR      9,500     pris       no

Paril   910-5824            NC       KIR      6,062     mod      no                     No past or recent logging. Current road construction for SBEP; 2 km of road built in 1990.

Pike   910-6484            NC       KIR      5,062     mod      no                     Old roads entering from Weewanie, but no logging.

Quaal 910-7139            NC       KIR      20,875   dev       no

Scotia 400-0570            NC       KIR      13,937   dev       no

Shames           400-1575            NC       KIR      8,937     dev       no

Stagoo 910-9197            NC       KIR      15,562   pris       no

Swanson Bay    910-5396            NC       KIR      5,624     mod      no                     Old pulp mill and townsite on pulp license in 1908.

Thulme           910-8548            NC       KIR      7,437     dev       no

Toon  910-8556            NC       KIR      8,999     dev       no

Triumph         910-5845            NC       KIR      8,562     dev       no                     Small area of old logging. Recent harvest of 150 ha and 3 km of new road. Ongoing activity.

Tsaytis 910-6185            NC       KIR      42,625   pris       no                     About 140 ha logged near mouth; not in watershed.

Tsimtack L      915-5602-879      NC       HEL     7,000     mod      no                     Logging on pulp license at creek mouth.

Union 910-8719            NC       KIR      6,437     pris       no                     Small area to west of watershed is logged, but no logging in watershed.

Unnamed        910-5895            NC       KIR      8,125     pris       no                     Opposite Europa Point in west Gardner Canal.

Unnamed        910-6139            NC       KIR      6,312     pris       no                     South of Queen Point in east Garnder Canal.

Unnamed        910-6248            NC       KIR      6,652     pris       no                     Opposite Chief Matthews Bay, east Gardner Canal.

Unnamed        910-7102            NC       KIR      5,625     pris       no                     East of Kihess Creek, north side Douglas Channel.

Unnamed        910-9258            NC       KIR      6,812     pris       no                     Near Hans Point, south side Alice Arm.

Unnamed        915-5600-411      NC       HEL     6,500     pris       no                     In Kingkown Inlet, west side Banks Island.

Unnamed        400-0164-066      NC       KIR      6,000     pris       no                     Between Port Essington and Brown L on west side of Ecstall River entrance.

Wahoo            910-6275            NC       KIR      22,000   pris       no

Walthsto         910-6693            NC       KIR      5,937     mod      no                     2 powerlines and road across middle; unlogged.

Wathl 910-6704            NC       KIR      12,249   dev       no                     Townsite at mouth; no logging upstream.

Weewanie        910-6490            NC       KIR      13,125   dev       no

Whalen L        915-4883-754      NC       HEL     9,375     dev       no

Zymagotitz      400-1842            NC       NAR     39,125   dev       no

Zymoetz         440-0000            NC       NAR     207,625  dev       no

 

 

QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS

• ·······································································································

Ain    940-7687            QCI      SKP      30,000   dev       no

Awun 940-8183            QCI      SKP      7,100     dev       no

Beresford        940-5735            QCI      WQC    13,157   pris       no

Bonanza          940-3325            QCI      WQC    6,360     dev       no

Cape Ball         940-0192            QCI      QCL     16,117   pris       park                  Old clearings for agriculture and cabins at mouth, less than 5 ha total.

Cave   940-5448            QCI      WQC    9,000     dev       no

Christie           940-6527            QCI      QCL     12,812   pris       no

Coates 940-4552            QCI      WQC    8,370     pris       no

Copper           950-0104            QCI      SKP      14,300   dev       no

Datlamen        940-8516            QCI      SKP      5,900     dev       no

Davidson        940-6617            QCI      SKP      11,600   dev       no

Deena 950-9743            QCI      SKP      6,300     dev       no

Haines 940-5606            QCI      WQC    10,500   dev       no                     168 ha active logging. More approved.

Hancock         940-7265            QCI      QCL     20,750   pris       no

Hiellen            940-9872            QCI      QCL     13,400   pris       park

Jalun  940-6202            QCI      QCL     11,000   pris       no

Lignite            940-6724            QCI      QCL     11,000   dev       no

Mamin            940-8748            QCI      SKP      17,100   dev       no

Mathers          955-0810-383      QCI      SKP      8,510     dev       no

Mayer 940-0535            QCI      QCL     15,220   mod      part       11,000   Most of watershed in Naikoon PP. Some  old and current logging; and a highway outside the park.

Naden 940-6651            QCI      SKP      25,130   dev       no

Oeanda           940-0218            QCI      QCL     10,373   pris       park

Otard 940-5165            QCI      WQC    9,150     pris       no

Otun  940-7167            QCI      QCL     13,897   pris       no

Pallant 950-0650            QCI      SKP      8,330     dev       no

Sangan            940-9740            QCI      QCL     15,900   mod      part       4,000     Approximately 150 ha logged both sides of lower Sangan in 1960s. Most of Sangan is in Naikoon PP, but major tributaries are not. Drizzle L ER includes headwaters of one tributary.

Seal    940-3766            QCI      WQC    5,550     pris       no

Skedans           955-0810-590      QCI      SKP      5,030     dev       no

Tlell   940-570  QCI      QCL     34,400   dev       no

Yakoun           940-8961            QCI      SKP      54,500   dev       no

 

 

APPENDIX 2

Geographic         Ecological                      Devel’t   Protected

Name Region   Region   Area (ha) Status    Status    Comments

 

Moyeha           WVI      WIM     18,220   pris       Strathcona PP      Entire watershed is within Strathcona PP.

Kainet MC       KIR      7,844     pris       Fjordland RA

Lard   MC       KIR      5,312     mod      Fjordland RA      75 ha logged in 1950s on both sides of stream at mouth.

Mussel            MC       KIR      16,748   mod      Fjordland RA      72 ha logged on south side of lower stream in 1950s.

Poison Cove    MC       KIR      10,625   pris       Fjordland RA

Gitnadoix        NC       KIR      56,812   mod      Gitnadoix RA      Approximately 40 ha logged on Skeena flats. Powerline on islands in Skeena.

Cape Ball         QCI      QCL     16,117   pris       Naikoon PP        Old clearings for agriculture and cabins at mouth, less than 5 ha total.

Hiellen            QCI      QCL     13,400   pris       Naikoon PP

Oeanda           QCI      QCL     10,373   pris       Naikoon PP

 

 

APPENDIX 3

Geographic         Watershed          Protected              % w-shed          Protected

Name Region   Area (ha) Area (ha)    protected         CWH (ha)           Comments

 

Harrison         FLM     786,750  76,000   10         17,500   Portions of Snowcap, Tuwasus, Billygoat, Kakila and Ure watersheds (all tributaries of Lillooet R) are protected in Garibaldi PP; but lower reaches outside the park are logged. About 23% of the protected area is CWH.

Pitt    FLM     168,437  41,000   24         21,250   The upper Pitt watershed above Pitt L is protected in Garibaldi PP. About 52% of the protected area is CWH.

Stave  FLM     101,813  32,500   32         3,750     The upper Stave and Tingle Cr (tributary to Stave L) are protected in Judge Howay RA and Golden Ears and Garibaldi PP’s. Part of the protected area has been logged in the past. About 12% of the protected area is CWH.

Campbell         EVI      169,816  100,000  59         40,500   Several entire tributary watersheds of Buttle L (Wolf, Phillips and Ralph) are protected in Strathcona PP; all greater than 5,000 ha and unlogged. Cervus Cr (tributary to the Elk R flowing into upper Campbell L) is also within Strathcona PP. The protected area includes an active mine, and extensive past logging. About 41% is CWH.

Bedwell           WVI      21,050   10,700   51         5,500     The upper Bedwell is in Strathcona PP. Most of the lower slopes on both sides of the watershed  within the park have been logged. About 51% of the protected area is CWH.

Burman           WVI      24,299   19,375   80         6,500     The upper Burman is within Strathcona PP. Logging extends up to the park boundary but not beyond. About 34% of the protected area is CWH.

Carmanah        WVI      6,616     3,500     53         3,500     164 ha logged in upper watershed in 1986 is 2.4% of watershed area. Roads enter lower watershed at three locations. The lower half of the watershed now in a PP Reserve is contiguous with protected area in Pacific Rim NP. All of the protected area is CWH.

Fisherman       WVI      8,380     1,125     13         1,125     The lower watershed is in Cape Scott PP. About 450 ha of upper watershed is logged. The protected area is all CWH.

Gold  WVI      102,812  20,700   20         3,500     Parts of the Upper Gold watershed are protected in Strathcona PP. The watershed around Gold L is protected but part of this area has been logged. The upper Ucona, a tributary of the Gold, is protected and the entire watershed above Donner L is unlogged. Part of an adjacent tributary watershed is also protected. About 17% of the protected area is CWH.

Megin WVI      24,299   3,000     12         1,000     Some logging on small IR at mouth of stream. Less than 5 ha logged in watershed. The upper Mitla and upper reaches of two other tributaries of the Megin are in Strathcona PP and are unlogged. There is a 50 ha ER in the lower watershed. About 33% of the protected area is CWH; remainder is subalpine forest (MH zone) and mountain peaks (AT zone).

Bella Coola      MC       294,861  159,500  54         11,000   The northside of the Talchako and its tributaries are protected in Tweedsmuir PP. Only 7% is CWH; and the balance is mountain and interior forest types.

Dean  MC       782,999  307,500  39         8,000     The Middle Dean and tributaries are protected in Tweedsmuir PP. Only 3% is CWH; and the balance is mountain and interior forest types.

Mayer QCI      15,220   11,000   72.        11,000   Most of watershed is in Naikoon PP. There is old logging, some current logging and a highway outside the park. All of the protected area is CWH.

Sangan            QCI      15,900   4,000     25         4,000     Approximately 150 ha logged both sides of lower Sangan in 1960s. Most of Sangan is in Naikoon PP, but major tributaries are not. Drizzle L ER includes headwaters of one tributary. All of the protected area is CWH.

 

 

APPENDIX 4

Geographic         Ecological                      Development

Name Region   Region   Area (ha) Status    Protected Status

 

Unnamed        WVI      WIM     1,000     pris       Brooks  RA

Unnamed        WVI      WIM     1,300     pris       Brooks  RA

Amos WVI      WIM     2,400     pris       Brooks  RA

Marks WVI      WIM     2,800     pris       Brooks  RA

Tsusiat            WVI      WIM     3,300     pris       Pacific Rim NP

Near   MC       KIR      1,400     unknown            Fjordland RA

Riot   MC       KIR      2,900     unknown            Fjordland RA

Leesum           MC       KIR      3,600     unknown            Fjordland RA

Korich            MC       KIR      2,200     unknown            Fjordland RA

Lizette MC       KIR      2,400     unknown            Fjordland RA

McAlpin          MC       KIR      2,700     unknown            Fjordland RA

Unnamed – Calvert Is     MC       HEL     3,200     pris       Hakai RA

Unnamed – Hunter Is     MC       HEL     1,700     pris       Hakai RA

Unnamed – Hunter Is     MC       HEL     1,100     pris       Hakai RA

Gingietl           NC       KIR      2,900     pris       Gingietl ER

Scudder           QCI      WQC    1,100     pris       Gwaii Haanas/South Moresby NPR

Luxana            QCI      WQC    1,100     pris       Gwaii Haanas/South Moresby NPR

Goski QCI      WQC    1,100     pris       Gwaii Haanas/South Moresby NPR

Echo  QCI      WQC    1,000     mod      Gwaii Haanas/South Moresby NPR

Salmon           QCI      WQC    1,000     mod      Gwaii Haanas/South Moresby NPR

Windy Bay       QCI      SKP      1,850     pris       Gwaii Haanas/South Moresby NPR

Mace  QCI      WQC    2,000     pris       Krajina ER